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THE FIRST WORD
Solar’s role in Biden’s plan to “Build Back Better” The Biden Administration has placed significant emphasis on its Build Back Better Agenda, a plan to create jobs, cut taxes and lower costs for working families. The solar industry has an opportunity to tap into that message while combatting climate change and shoring up domestic supply chains — two more equally large points of concern for the country. It’s time to bring back manufacturing jobs to the U.S. solar market. I was at the ground-breaking event in August for First Solar’s third manufacturing facility in Northwest Ohio. This expansion is expected to support 700 new jobs, something Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh praised in his address to the crowd. Many other government officials and First Solar representatives spoke, often commenting on how these new jobs will help America compete directly with China for manufacturing prowess, but that the United States will treat its workers with dignity and respect — a less than subtle dig at China, in light of forced labor concerns in the Xinjiang region. This will all make better sense once you read our review of the back-and-forth between the United States and China for solar manufacturing dominance on pg. 34. While the news of First Solar’s 700 additional jobs in U.S. panel manufacturing is great, the company makes thin-film panels, not the industry-standard crystalline silicon. There is an even larger opportunity here at home to build back our silicon solar supply chain. All silicon solar panel manufacturers in the United States are just panel assemblers — they depend on Editor in Chief imported silicon cells (and the wafers and ingots before kpickerel@wtwhmedia.com them) to make completed modules. With China holding @SolarKellyP @SolarPowerWorld over 80% of the world’s polysilicon supply, there’s a lot the U.S. solar manufacturing industry has no control over. If the country wants to hit renewable energy targets and bring back more jobs, we have to start making all components of a solar panel here at home. A good first step: The Senate introduced a tax credit for manufacturers in the U.S. solar panel supply chain earlier this year. If passed, it could give more incentive to ingot and wafer manufacturers to set up in the country, allowing us to hop off the Chinese supply chain, combat climate change and support more jobs — in one smooth action. All the props to First Solar for making big solar manufacturing moves. Now let’s just get the solar silicon market to follow suit. SPW
Kelly Pickerel
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SOLAR POWER WORLD
SEPTEMBER 2021
CONTENTS
37
14
ON THE COVER
The silicon solar PV cell may have been invented in the
United States 70 years ago, but now China dominates the solar manufacturing space. Can
26
14 PRODUCT TRACEABILITY
34 PANELS
While manufacturers hold the key to supply chain transparency, solar installers must demand it
POLICY 20 CALIFORNIA LICENSING
Two recent bureaucratic rulings in the state could affect solar contractors’ ability to continue business as usual
INSTALLATION 26 CASE STUDY
4 FIRST WORD
A solar developer completes a multisite project portfolio in Oregon that was anything but easy
94 CONTRACTOR’S CORNER 96 AD INDEX
SOLAR POWER WORLD
70
TECHNOLOGY
throne?
12 NEWS BRIEFS
48
BUSINESS
Americans reclaim the solar Photo courtesy of Getty Images
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SEPTEMBER 2021 • VOL 11 NO 5 w w w. s o l a r p o w e r w o r l d o n l i n e . c o m
The silicon solar battle between the United States and China is a lengthy, complicated fight that is still ongoing
48 INVERTERS
Advancements in utility-scale solar inverter design give developers plentiful options
56 MOUNTING
A-frame supports make solar tracker installation feasible in difficult soil conditions
64 STORAGE
Here’s how solar EPCs can contribute their unique expertise to the growing utility-scale storage market
SPECIAL SECTION: SOLAR POWER INTERNATIONAL
At time of publication, SPI was still an in-person event for New Orleans. We hope to see you and these new products on the show floor. | PAGE 70
SEPTEMBER 2021
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45
NEWS BRIEFS
SOLAR POLICY SNAPSHOTS A guide to recent legislation and research throughout the country.
California recently became the first state in the nation to require solar + storage installations on new commercial buildings.
Biden administration reveals likely extension of ITC in new briefing
12
Senate passes infrastructure bill containing provisions for energy storage development
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
President Joe Biden and the U.S. Department of Energy released an Issue Brief on solar energy research, deployment and workforce plans that aligns with many solar industry priorities. Most notably, the briefing mentions the possibility of extending the solar ITC to help reach Biden’s clean energy goals.
The U.S. Senate voted to pass a $1 trillion infrastructure bill that contains provisions for energy storage development and power grid upgrades to support increased solar deployment. At press time, the bill was moving to the House, where the Progressive Caucus has said it will refuse a vote unless the Senate passes a separate $3.5 trillion social policy bill this fall.
SOLAR POWER WORLD
SEPTEMBER 2021
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NEWS BRIEFS
California Energy Commission mandates solar + storage on new commercial buildings
Biden Administration includes new energy storage funding in 2022 DOE budget proposal
Oregon officially commits to 100% clean electricity by 2040
Sacramento, California
Washington, D.C.
Salem, Oregon
The California Energy Commission unanimously voted to require builders to install solar + storage on new commercial buildings and high-rise multifamily buildings. The new Energy Code also includes requirements for builders to design single-family homes so batteries can be easily added to the already-mandated solar systems in the future.
The Biden Administration is pushing for tools to develop more affordable longduration energy storage in its latest budget request for the Department of Energy. The proposed additional research funding would help reach the administration’s goal of lowering grid-scale energy storage costs by 90% by 2030.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed a bill that commits electricity providers in the state to delivering 100% clean power to its customers by 2040, with a near-term goal of reducing emissions by 80% for power sold in-state by 2030. Oregon now ties New York for the fastest statewide timeline in the nation.
Renewable energy coalition asks Congress for direct pay option for residential energy efficiency tax credit
New Illinois law makes it easier for homeowners association community members to install rooftop solar
NJBPU approves Successor Solar Incentive Program, doubling state’s solar capacity
Washington, D.C.
Springfield, Illinois
Trenton, New Jersey
More than 300 environmental justice advocates and renewable energy companies sent a letter to Senate and House committee leaders requesting a direct pay option for the residential energy efficiency property tax credit. The coalition says direct pay would increase solar access to lower-income families.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill that will protect solar customer rights, especially when faced with discriminatory homeowners association (HOA) covenants. The law aims to expedite the HOA approval timeline for solar projects and guarantee homeowners’ rights to install solar on their roofs without major redesign requirements.
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities voted unanimously to implement a new solar incentive program that will double the state’s solar capacity by 2026. Under the new plan, all residential solar customers will receive a fixed incentive payment.
Wisconsin Republicans working on community solar-enabling legislation
SolarAPP+ instant online permitting software now available nationwide
Michigan Municipal League backs state community solar legislation
Madison, Wisconsin
Washington, D.C.
Lansing, Michigan
Republicans in Wisconsin’s statehouse plan to introduce legislation enabling the development of community solar in the state during this session. The lawmakers emphasized the benefits of energy choice for consumers and the advantages of local, renewable energy.
The Department of Energy’s SolarAPP+ free instant online permitting software is now available to all localities nationwide after successful trials with select cities. SolarAPP+ allows cities to automatically check projects for code compliance — reducing soft costs and waiting time.
An organization representing more than 520 cities across Michigan has shown its support for community solar legislation by joining the Michigan Community Solar Alliance. The Michigan Municipal League joins over a dozen other supporters of the bill.
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SEPTEMBER 2021
SOLAR POWER WORLD
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BILLY LUDT ASSOCIATE EDITOR
A
growing trend across all industries is consumers demanding greater transparency on the origin of the products they’re purchasing. Manufacturers claiming they’re producing cruelty-free or organic products can be subject to third-party audits to determine if that’s true. The solar industry is now also experiencing a push for supply chain traceability as allegations of forced labor in the production of polysilicon, a raw material necessary in making the wafers used in solar panels, surfaced in Xinjiang, China, where nearly half of the world’s polysilicon is produced. There are options for U.S. solar installers to encourage supply chain traceability for the products they’re purchasing, but it remains the responsibility of the manufacturer to implement the protocol.
WHAT IS SUPPLY CHAIN TRACEABILITY?
Supply chain traceability is the process of tracking the condition of how a product is made with specific conditional requirements in mind. Those could be how sustainably something is produced, the quality of materials used in the product or ensuring no forced labor was used during production. Ultimately, supply chain traceability aims to create greater transparency and accountability in manufacturing, all the way down to where raw materials are sourced. “When we talk about the way the world is procuring things nowadays, and across many industries, there’s this whole area that some people refer to as ‘ethical sourcing,’” said Paul Wormser, VP of technology at Clean Energy Associates. “This really means, can I source something that meets my code of conduct standards, my ethical standards, my supply chain standards? So, that may have human rights and labor issues associated with it, but it may have other issues associated with it too.” Tracing something like the production of a solar panel would start at the module factory to check the solar cell. Then the solar cell would be traced to the wafer. From the wafer, the audit continues to move backward to the ingot and then on to the polysilicon factory where the ingot is fabricated.
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“This continues upstream until you get to the basic raw materials that are used, and you can imagine that if you’re a module manufacturer, you might make modules in more than one place, you might get solar cells from more than one place,” Wormser said. For U.S. solar specifically, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), Clean Energy Associates (CEA) and Senergy Technical Services published a 41-page document in April titled “Solar Supply Chain Traceability Protocol 1.0” that meticulously lays out the steps manufacturers should take to establish supply chain traceability. The method relies on third-party auditors to provide unbiased reports on the process. “The protocol is designed to provide trust and transparency in the supply chain,” said John Smirnow, general counsel and VP of market strategy at SEIA. “It’s tracing or establishing provenance of the documents where goods come from. You add visibility into the solar supply chain, making sure it’s credible.” A SOLAR INSTALLER’S ROLE IN SUPPLY CHAIN TRACEABILITY
There is no direct action for solar installers to take in the actual process of supply chain traceability. Whether it’s a small dealership in the residential market purchasing hardware from a distributor, or a national installer in the utility market dealing directly with manufacturers, the onus is still on manufacturers to implement supply chain traceability. What installers can do is address traceability with those distributors or manufacturers they’re purchasing products from. Installers can include obligations in
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BUSINESS
Manufacturers
hold the key to supply chain transparency. Solar installers must demand it. www.solarpowerworldonline.com
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BUSINESS
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purchasing contracts that have provisions for a specific issue in production, like sustainability or forced labor. The other option is requiring an audit of the supply chain. That would entail hiring a third-party auditing service like CEA to enter those manufacturing facilities and ensure a product is meeting required standards. In most cases, the party requesting the audit must pay for the service. “What do they care about? Forced labor in Xinjiang. Do you know where the silicon’s coming from? If not, what are you doing about it? Distributors should push that up the supply chain. It depends on how far removed they are from the import or supply channel, but signal that customers want to see certain things done,” Smirnow said. Installers can trigger those processes through their product distributors. Distributors often work with thirdparty entities to ensure their supply chains are operating legally and deal directly with manufacturers. The United States prohibits the import of any material produced by forced labor, so if a shipment contains product that was produced under those or other illegal conditions, it will sit in a shipping port and remain undelivered. Solar distributors like Soligent can track what products are kept at shipping ports due to legal status and avoid those manufacturers. They’re also able to directly address these issues with the manufacturers. “Distributors like us are asking these questions and we most certainly ask these questions of our manufacturers,” said Jonathan Doochin, CEO of Soligent, in an email. “We then check in with third parties to see who we believe is breaking the law and we steer clear of those products.” 16
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Soligent
It isn’t feasible for an individual solar installer to track the origin of every piece of hardware they use. The consumer in most cases is removed from transactions between manufacturer and distributor. But installers are driving the production of these solar components and have a role to play in supply chain traceability. “Anybody who’s in the solar industry who is buying something, anybody in the solar industry who is selling something, they should understand that the protocol exists,” Wormser said. “They should understand that it’s a framework they can follow in order to be prepared to address the whole topic of, ‘Where did the materials come from that are in the product I just bought or the product I’m buying?’” SPW
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KELSEY MISBRENER SENIOR EDITOR
California solar contractors must be aware of new licensing and consumer protection rulings
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SOLAR POWER WORLD
MAY 2021
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POLICY The
solar industry is arguably regulated more closely than any other home improvement industry since it’s connected to the utility grid — and subject to utility processes and pushback. Solar installers in California should pay close attention to two recent bureaucratic rulings that could affect their ability to continue business as usual.
NEW CLIENT PAPERWORK REQUIREMENT
In 2019, the California Public Utilities Commission developed a guide that solar installers must give to prospective customers in investor-owned utility (IOU) territories explaining everything they “need to know” before investing in solar, called the “California Solar Consumer Protection Guide.” The California Solar & Storage Association (CALSSA) got involved as soon as possible to revise some of the initial alarmist language in the pamphlet, said Josh Buswell-Charkow, deputy director of CALSSA. Although contractors have technically been required to submit signed consumer guides since 2019, there weren’t consequences for noncompliance until this year. If the IOUs find that contractors are not uploading completed, signed documents, they will be added to a public list of noncompliant installers for that quarter and one following, according to Buswell-Charkow. Additionally, the IOUs will manually audit the interconnection applications of noncompliant installers during their semiannual spot-checks. In California, residential interconnection applications are usually reviewed almost immediately by IOUs. “As contractors know, time is of the essence here. It’s not a good thing when the IOUs are literally combing through your interconnection application to make sure you have done everything correctly,” BuswellCharkow said. “The advice that we give to people with this guide is to make sure that you are complying with all of the requirements as far as administering it correctly and that you have good systems in place so you don’t
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face unintended consequences for noncompliance.” Although CALSSA was able to suggest edits to earlier drafts, the current version is still 24 pages and includes sentiments that could potentially scare away hesitant buyers if read closely. The guide starts with large text in an orange box with an exclamation point next to it reading: “PUTTING SOLAR ON YOUR HOME IS AN IMPORTANT FINANCIAL DECISION. DON’T SIGN A CONTRACT UNTIL YOU READ THIS DOCUMENT!”
It goes on to sections titled, “Watch out for false claims,” “Know your rights,” and 10 additional chapters. “I can tell you for sure if CALSSA had the pen, there’s a bunch that we would deemphasize, and there are other things that we would probably emphasize more. The frame of the guide would definitely be different,” Buswell-Charkow said. “On the other hand, we also think that there’s some useful information in this guide, and on the whole, we think information is a good thing and we certainly think consumers should know what they’re getting into before they decide to install solar.” Adam Rizzo, partner at Escondido’s Palomar Solar & Roofing, thinks the guide is a good tool for consumers to navigate the crowded solar market, and that it should have been released 10 years ago. “This is exactly how we’ve built our excellent reputation over the last 11 years — by teaching people how to do their research. We have been educating our potential clients this way since we started,” Rizzo said in an
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POLICY
THE OPPOSITION TO DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES AND TO ROOFTOP SOLAR USED THOSE BAD ACTORS AND AN EXTREMELY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF INSTALLATIONS AND SOLAR CUSTOMERS AS LEVERAGE POINTS TO TRY AND PUT SOME OBSTRUCTIONS BETWEEN US AND FORWARD PROGRESS IN THIS INDUSTRY. email. He thinks the guide points out some important factors customers should research in a contractor, including how long a company has been in business, what jobs they subcontract out and how they say solar system monitoring will work. Palomar Solar sales reps email the guide to prospective customers before even sitting down with them for their first meeting. Sometimes, customers have met with a handful of contractors already, but had not seen the guide until their meeting with Palomar, indicating that some solar companies could be in trouble if they’re audited on document submissions, Rizzo said. Jeff Parr, CEO of San Ramon-based installer Solar Technologies, agrees that it’s good for the industry when consumers are more informed. He believes some solar companies don’t operate ethically, but he sees backdoor utility efforts at play with the guide. “I think it’s safe to say what we saw is the opposition to distributed energy resources and to rooftop solar used those bad actors and an extremely small percentage of installations and solar customers as leverage points to try and
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put some obstructions between us and forward progress in this industry,” Parr said. Parr isn’t opposed to the guide in general, but he takes issue with the tone. “It was very much drafted essentially by the interests of the utilities, making it sound like everybody who went solar was going to get screwed,” he said. NEW LICENSING REQUIREMENTS FOR SOLAR + STORAGE INSTALLERS
While the consequences of an unsigned consumer protection guide is a simpler paperwork issue, a new ruling by the Contractor State Licensing Board (CSLB) could cause more complex problems for some of California’s installers. The board recently ruled that a C-46 license is no longer eligible to install solar + storage systems in the state. According to CALSSA’s CEO Bernadette Del Chiaro, the ruling makes it so that every person involved on a solar + storage installation — even if they only install panels and don’t touch the electrical portion — must be a C-10 electrical contractor in the state of California, or an electrical trainee registered in a state-approved apprenticeship program on a one-toone ratio with very few exceptions. “The C-10 as well as the General A and General B licenses, operating within their classifications, are the only remaining licenses eligible to install solar + storage systems,” said Del Chiaro. The California Energy Commission just passed the 2022 California Energy Code, which mandates that all new commercial buildings include solar + storage installations. The number of contractors available to install these systems might be small if the new C-10 licensing requirement goes into effect. CALSSA analyzed Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) and CSLB data and found only 22% of the solar + storage installations in the past
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five years were done by contractors holding just a C-10 license. The majority of systems are being installed by contractors who hold a C-46 solar contractor license, with and without other licenses. Obtaining a C-10 license requires workers to complete four years of onthe-job experience at a journeyman level or higher, pass the electrical exam, finish an electrical apprenticeship program in the state and more. By comparison, the C-46 license requires workers to have either a college degree or four years of solar experience and to pass a solar-specific test. Del Chiaro said the new ruling sets an unreachable bar for California’s contractor community and threatens to obstruct solar + storage installations the rest of the year. “There is a shortage of not just workers in California, but specifically electricians. It is simply impossible for this new requirement to be met,” she said in an email. Del Chiaro believes this decision was pushed by utility interests working to slow down the fast-growing solar industry. “This is not actually a union vs. non-union issue. There are more than enough jobs to go around for everyone. This is about the utilities trying to take down their competition,” Del Chiaro said. Parr of Solar Technologies believed the utility powers involved relied on the same, few bad actors in the industry to encourage this ruling as they did for the consumer guide. “I think it was a pretty clever play by them, because
SEPTEMBER 2021
if you fast-forward five years from now, every solar system is tied to an energy storage system,” Parr said. “The utilities and the electrical workers unions are trying to use other things to try and either slow down the adoption of solar and energy storage or try and grab that market for themselves.” CALSSA is in talks with CSLB now to get further clarification on this rule and explore legal options. In the meantime, California contractors should make sure they’re submitting all necessary documentation to the IOUs and are equipped to hire workers to satisfy new CSLB licensing requirements. SPW
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INSTALLATION Solar developer completes multi-site project portfolio that was anything but easy 26
SOLAR POWER WORLD
SEPTEMBER 2021
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BILLY LUDT ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Adobe Stock
Developing
utility-scale solar requires a plethora of preparations, from land easements and county permitting to coordinating interconnection and establishing renewable energy credits. Adapture Renewables, a developer based in Oakland, California, is no stranger to large-scale solar, as it has worked on solar projects across the country. But the experienced contractor learned first-hand how important preparation is after it acquired an under-development portfolio of Western Oregon solar projects in 2019. Adapture welcomes a challenge, but fulfilling the remaining development requirements of 10 arrays for one off-taker in an unfamiliar territory was a new prospect for the company. The acquired portfolio included 10 yet-to-bedeveloped projects totaling 31 MW, with each site averaging 3 MW. “If you talk about utility-scale solar, obviously our preference would be to go out and build a 100-MWDC site because you’re doing it once,” said Don Miller, COO and
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general counsel at Adapture Renewables. “When you do it 10 times, you’re kind of a glutton. It’s like you’re taking on a challenge because you’ve got potentially 10 different landlords. In this case, the beauty of this was we had one offtaker, one interconnecting utility.” That one off-taker was Portland General Electric, which supplies electricity to nearly half of Oregon and was eager for project completion. Once acquired by Adapture, the project portfolio was estimated to have another six months of development tasks before going to construction. “We had to make sure [Portland General Electric’s] upgrades were happening as we were designing our system as well,” said Goran Arya, director of business development, Adapture Renewables. “And basically, making sure we coincide with when they’re able to accept our power as well as when we also plan to be able to export our power.” Then working with 10 different landowners meant dealing with 10 different personalities. Adapture’s development team needed to resecure land rights on all 10 sites for 35 years
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INSTALLATION
Adapture
after taking over the portfolio from the previous developer. “We have a very long view of things — 35 years plus,” Miller said. “So, in some cases when we’re doing the due diligence on projects we’re looking for, do we have site control for that length of time? Sometimes an original developer will take care of it on some of the projects, but not all, so in that case we’ll have to go back and renegotiate with the landlord — get a little bit of extra extension time so we can exercise options for that 35 years.” Almost all 10 of the projects had special-use permits in place but were located across five different counties, some straddling county lines. The arrays are located in Oregon City (3.12 MW), Molalla (3.54 MW), Salem (1.44 MW), Willamina (3.65 MW), Aurora (2.56 MW),
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Sheridan (3.45 MW), Boring (3.04 MW), Woodburn (3.44 MW), Forest Grove (3.48 MW) and Silverton (3.45 MW). JUGGLING 10 SITES
TAKING ON A PORTFOLIO LIKE THIS, YOU REALLY HAVE TO SEE IT AS ONE GROUP.
Once the interconnection agreements and financing were in place, Adapture sent its construction superintendents to Portland to begin hiring local laborers to build the arrays. The company prefers to use a local labor force for its familiarity with the landscape. This minimizes how many people Adapture sends to jobsites and saves on travel costs and time needed for onboarding. Then, project managers oversee construction and bounce between projects.
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Multiple surveyors, civil and electrical contractors were brought on to meet the needs of every project. Some sites had natural features like creeks and trees that required additional design and civil considerations. While several projects were under construction at the same time, Morgan Zinger, senior project manager at Adapture Renewables, was visiting multiple sites
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each day to ensure design plans were followed. “Taking on a portfolio like this, you really have to see it as one group,” Zinger said. “It’s like you couldn’t take your foot off the gas until they’re all done.” MOTHER NATURE STEPS IN
Working in construction in 2020 on the West Coast brought with it many challenges. To start, installation happened during the pandemic, which required social distancing, sanitizing and additional safety measures. On top of that, Oregon experiences an annual rainy season from November through March, and the Portland area alone experienced 164 days of rain in 2020. “It’s really hard to do earthwork when it’s wet outside,” Zinger said. “You might try to build a row and you just keep compacting it and it just compacts more and you have to add more gravel and it just keeps going. It can get so wet where you can’t hit the compaction number you’re trying to [reach].” Installers had to focus on ground work like foundations during drier months. Construction across the board ceased in one county from November through March, affecting two solar sites. Not only did the team endure the wet season, but they also faced unprecedented wildfires. In late 2020, a cluster of fires burned as far north as Oregon City, which is where one of the projects in Adapture’s portfolio was located. Four-thousand homes and 1.07 million acres of Oregon land were destroyed by the 2020 wildfires. Despite the delays created by a natural disaster, consistently inclement weather and a global pandemic, Adapture brought the 10th and final solar project online in February 2021.
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Due to module availability issues, projects used a mix of ET Solar and GCL modules, but all had fixed-tilt APA Solar Racking and Sungrow inverters. Adapture completed 17 projects last year, 10 of which were from the Western Oregon portfolio. “It takes full organizational engagement, so we had everyone keyed in on these projects, making sure folks were involved at the right time,” Arya said. “And I think what we learned, and we started employing later on in the process, was bringing people in earlier than we typically would just to make sure they’re involved and they can address those concerns early on.” Although familiar with multi-project portfolios, Adapture hopes to transition to mainly developing larger single projects — those with megawatt counts as large as the entire Western Oregon portfolio. SPW
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E L T T A B R A L O S N O IC THE SIL
WE NOW HAVE NO HAND IN ITS T YE , ICA ER AM IN D TE EN INV S WA LL THE SILICON SOLAR PV CE MINATE SOLAR MANUFACTURING? DO INA CH T LE WE DID W HO N. TIO UC PROD
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www.solarpowerworldonline solarpowerworldonline .com www.solarpowerworldonline.com
TECHNOLOGY
a a Trin hiro o lls at e m c o T 15. cting 0 e 2 p es s n g i in a Ima rker Chin etty G A wo ctory in a i fa e rg v Solar i/Bloomb m u Ohs
AN
engineer, a chemist and a physicist walk into a lab on April 25, 1954. The next day, The New York Times publishes a front page story that their invention “may mark the beginning of a new era, leading eventually to the realization of one of mankind’s most cherished dreams — the harnessing of the almost limitless energy of the sun for the uses of civilization.” Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller and Gerald Pearson worked at the famed Bell Labs in the 1950s and are credited with creating the silicon PV cell. This American invention ushered in an era of American ingenuity — from satellites and space travel to independent power production on Earth. With so much American technical experience, how is it that 70 years later, the United States has very little influence on the silicon solar cell? How did China come to dominate the solar PV manufacturing market?
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U.S. WINS THE RACE, BUT NOT THE MARATHON
To begin, one must follow the path of the silicon solar cell after it left Bell Labs. First it found a home on American satellites (Russia’s Sputnik 1 used silver-zinc batteries for power in 1957; America’s Vanguard 1 used six silicon solar cells in 1958). The 1960s saw more gains in efficiency, but commercialization was slow to catch on. The 1973 oil crisis pushed the U.S. Congress to pass bills that would force the country to make solar more viable and affordable for the general public. U.S. energy companies — which at that point had mostly dealt with oil and gas — began opening solar research divisions. One of those companies, Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), was very successful with its photovoltaics product development. ARCO Solar achieved many global industry firsts, including being the first
panel manufacturer to hit 1 MW of yearly production (1980) and the first to install a megawatt-scale solar project (1982). Through a series of acquisitions, ARCO eventually becomes SolarWorld Americas (a subsidy of German SolarWorld AG), and the technological legacy lived on at its silicon cell and panel manufacturing plant in Hillsboro, Oregon. SolarWorld is a central theme in the story of the downfall of American solar manufacturing. Whether SolarWorld deserves the blame is a matter of personal opinion, especially among those entrenched in the U.S. solar industry in the early 2010s. SolarWorld Americas became the nation’s punching bag after it filed a trade petition in October 2011 (along with six unnamed solar companies) asking the U.S. government to prevent Chinese solar companies from dumping cheap solar panels into the U.S.
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Archive photo of solar cells at SolarWorld’s Oregon manufacturing facility.
market. Many in the U.S. solar industry denounced SolarWorld as anti-affordable solar and against fair competition. They claimed the young U.S. solar industry couldn’t grow without cheaper solar panels. The U.S. government, though, saw SolarWorld’s point that China’s cheap panels were preventing U.S. solar manufacturers from competing in the market, and the U.S. levied antidumping and countervailing (AD/CV) duties against Chinese solar companies. China retaliated with its own tariffs on American-made polysilicon and propped up its domestic production. Ten years later, American polysilicon production for the solar market is still deflated and China now holds 80% of the world’s polysilicon supply (nearly half coming from the Xinjiang province). There are no silicon solar cell manufacturers in the United States, and SolarWorld Americas — with its historic influence on the U.S. solar industry — is out of business. Once a solar manufacturing powerhouse, the United States (and the rest of the globe) now depends on China for its solar supply chain.
China, the U.S. manufacturer participated in every step of solar panel manufacturing — it melted and shaped polysilicon into ingots, sliced the ingots into wafers, doped the wafers into cells and finally assembled the cells into finished solar panels. The company had just started a significant investment into advanced mono-PERC solar manufacturing when SolarWorld’s locked-in polysilicon supply contracts were priced considerably higher than what China was offering, said Desari Strader, then-head of government affairs for SolarWorld Americas. “They were beating us on the cost of production,” Strader said of Chinese suppliers at the time. “We had just finished ramping up [to mono-PERC]. Of course the Chinese could come and dump [cheap panels] in the U.S. It was super easy. Then everyone is screaming that you can’t compete with [Chinese module prices.] Yeah, you’re right. We can’t compete with slave labor.”
THE ORIGINS OF THE FIGHT
In 2011, when SolarWorld Americas made its official complaint to the Dept. of Commerce citing unfair trade practices by 36
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The Xinjiang province of China has long been associated with alleged human rights abuses. The United States and many other international democracies believe that China is forcing those of the mostly Muslim Uyghur population into labor camps in the Northwest portion of the country. The situation is being described as an ethnic and religious genocide of the Uyghur people. Xinjiang became a polysilicon manufacturing hotspot in the late 2000s, after China established an economic plan that prioritized solar and polysilicon development, and subsidized local manufacturing. Soon enough, Chinese companies were churning out cheap solar panels, boosted by state-funding — and possibly forced labor. “If 30% of the cost of a panel is your polysilicon, and you’re not paying wages, [of course] they were beating us on the cost of production,” Strader said.
IF 30% OF THE COST OF A PANEL IS YOUR POLYSILICON, AND YOU’RE NOT PAYING WAGES, [OF COURSE] THEY WERE BEATING US ON THE COST OF PRODUCTION. www.solarpowerworldonline.com
PANEL TECHNOLOGY
Strader said that once there was no way to avoid American-made SolarWorld modules (with high-priced polysilicon contracts) being more expensive than Chinese imports, SolarWorld moved forward with the court case to protect not only its investment in cutting-edge PERC technology, but also American solar manufacturing. An opposition group called the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy (CASE) quickly formed, fronted by SunEdison founder Jigar Shah (who today works at the Dept. of Energy). CASE membership said that any duties on imported solar modules would increase system prices and hurt the growing solar installation workforce — which was significantly larger than the U.S. solar manufacturing pool.
“SolarWorld is looking to singlehandedly kill U.S. solar jobs, which are primarily in solar installation, not in solar cell or panel manufacturing,” Shah said in a statement back then. “The government shouldn’t reward or protect one German company that is not fitting into the thriving global solar industry. It also should not punish the American companies that have found a job-creating niche in that same industry. The prosecution of this trade case is not going to solve the problem of promoting American manufacturing — it will just disrupt the industry.” SolarWorld responded to the backlash (in Solar Power World in Dec. 2011): “While subsidies are not inherently improper, it is illegal for a nation to use them to ramp up domestic production to grow
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well beyond the needs of domestic consumption and then dump exports at prices below production costs into a foreign economy with the effect of destroying that foreign economy’s market and industry. “Such is precisely what China is doing.” In 2012, the Dept. of Commerce imposed AD/CV duties on U.S. solar cell imports from Chinese manufacturers ranging from 23 to 35%. For any Chinese company that didn’t agree to have their bill of materials investigated by the United States, the duty was a hefty 250%. Thus started the trend of Chinese module manufacturers shipping solar wafers to Taiwan to be made into solar cells and then back to China for module assembly to avoid the tariffs. U.S. solar module prices were not drastically affected by the anti-dumping taxes. What was affected was the American polysilicon industry. POLYSILICON GETS A RAW DEAL
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“SolarWorld filed those trade cases for modules and cells. Then China retaliated and put it against us [polysilicon producers],” said Chuck Sutton, VP of FBR polysilicon sales and an employee at REC Silicon for 30 years. The three U.S. polysilicon producers still affected by this saga are Hemlock Semiconductor Operations, REC Silicon and Wacker Chemie AG. In direct retaliation to the U.S. tariffs on imported Chinese solar cells, China in 2013 placed its own high duties on American-made polysilicon. At the time, it was reported that the United States produced 24% of the global polysilicon market. The large majority of REC’s U.S. polysilicon production was supplied directly to China — its Moses Lake, Washington, facility (which catered to solar) exported
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80% of its polysilicon to China, while its Butte, Montana, plant (which largely supplied the electronics market) exported 50% of its product to China. Also at the time, Hemlock had a facility in Michigan and was working on a new plant in Tennessee. Wacker was also in the middle of building its own $2.5 billion polysilicon manufacturing plant in Tennessee. Hemlock closed its Tennessee venture in 2014 while Wacker continued with its investment although the polysilicon market bottomed out. Along with REC Silicon, the three oncecompetitors released a joint statement in 2019 claiming that the effective ban from the Chinese market resulted in the U.S. polysilicon market shrinking from $1 billion in 2011 to $107 million in 2018. Although initially shut out of the Chinese market, American polysilicon suppliers could still work with other countries and found decent supply need with Korean and Taiwanese solar wafer and cell companies, until China restricted imports from those countries,
too. Not only was China ramping its own production of polysilicon, it was also overtaking the global solar wafer and cell supply chain. Outside of China, solar wafer and cell manufacturers are limited. There’s NorSun in Norway (currently less than 500 MW), LONGi in Malaysia (~1 GW), JA Solar in Vietnam (~1 GW), Meyer Burger starting up in Germany (~1 GW), and possibly a few smaller outfits in Taiwan — maybe 4 GW in total. Meanwhile, the three U.S. companies have much larger production capacities (probably around 23 GW at full capacity). And this isn’t considering any polysilicon production in Europe. “Our issue right now is there is no ingot wafer capacity, or at least not enough, outside China,” Sutton said. “You’re looking at 20 to 40 GW of polysilicon trying to fight for 4 GW [of wafer production].” This oversupply situation forced REC to shut down its Moses Lake plant in 2019. Its Montana plant is still making polysilicon, but only for the electronics
OUR ISSUE RIGHT NOW IS THERE IS NO INGOT WAFER CAPACITY, OR AT LEAST NOT ENOUGH, OUTSIDE CHINA. market. If China doesn’t allow American imports, and if a non-Chinese solar supply chain doesn’t get set up soon, Sutton said REC will invest more in next-generation lithium-ion battery technologies that use silicon. The company currently is testing this new venture on a pilot line in Moses Lake. But in order for silicon-doped lithium batteries to turn into significant contracts for REC, “we need the electric vehicle market to take off, but likewise, China is dominating that market,” Sutton said. CAN AMERICA GET ITS SOLAR GROOVE BACK?
In June 2021, the United States escalated the now 10-year battle with China over
Archive photo of polysilicon ready to be formed into ingots at SolarWorld’s Oregon manufacturing facility.
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polysilicon and solar. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) on silicon-based products made by Hoshine Silicon Industry Co. located in Xinjiang, in a stand against products using forced labor entering the global supply chain. Hoshine produces industrial silicon, which can find its way into polysilicon products. Although the United States isn’t a huge importer of Hoshine silicon (only $6 million in direct imports last year), Hoshine does supply silicon to several Chinese firms whose polysilicon undoubtedly ends up in solar cells and panels entering the United States. CBP officials confirmed its ban includes finished solar panels containing Hoshine materials. While this WRO isn’t wholly a reaction to the solar industry (silicon is in a lot of semiconductors and electronics that the federal government uses every day), its long-term effects could start a shift to non-Chinese solar supply chains. Desari Strader, the former head of government affairs for SolarWorld Americas, thinks so. She is the founder of U.S. solar manufacturing startup Violet Power. Many on the Violet Power leadership team have deep ties to the U.S. solar industry and SolarWorld — including one-time CEO Charlie Gay, who previously was CEO of ARCO Solar and helped SolarWorld transition to monoPERC technology. Violet Power made a big splash in 2020 when it announced it would have 500 MW of solar cell and 500 MW of solar panel manufacturing in Washington State by 2021, with an eventual scale to 5 GW of annual production. It was a bit of a premature announcement, with the company underestimating how difficult it would be to establish a non-Chinese supply chain. But now Violet Power has regrouped and plans to be the first falling domino that forces a more domestic supply chain. If Violet Power can absolutely commit to a large amount of solar cell 44
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Archive photo of ingot ready to be cut into wafers at SolarWorld’s Oregon manufacturing facility.
production, then other U.S. startups will have the guarantee of a major customer and can begin making wafers and ingots domestically. “The mission is this: We owned this technology; we built this technology. It was birthed out of Bell Labs. It powered the first satellite dishes. We’re bringing our technology not only home, but to scale with a U.S. supply chain,” Strader said. All Violet Power needs is other players to step up. “We were never going to limp into this with 1 GW [of cell production]. You have to go 3 to 5 GW out of the gate to get all the other upstream/downstream players ramping back up with you,” Strader continued. “The timeline is nine to 12 months for a module line [to get started], six to nine months for wafer, ingot is 18 to 24 months. The only way they can do that is knowing they have at least one cell company to feed into. That’s what Violet Power is going to be.” A federal manufacturing tax credit would also help tremendously. The Solar
SEPTEMBER 2021
Energy Manufacturing for America Act introduced in the Senate this year would provide tax credits for American manufacturers at every stage of the solar panel manufacturing supply chain, from production of polysilicon to solar cells to fully assembled solar modules. The suggested credits to manufacturers include: 7-¢/W for solar panels, 11-¢/W for integrated modules, 4-¢/W for PV cells, $12/m2 for silicon wafers and $3/kg for solar-grade polysilicon. “The manufacturing tax credit has to go through if the U.S. is going to do anything on climate change,” Strader said. The proposed tax credit has already led one company to announce U.S. module manufacturing plans. Convalt Energy purchased the equipment at the former SolarWorld plant in Oregon and is moving it to New York to set up a 700-MW module assembly plant that will open in 2022. But without wafer and cell production in the United States, it still has a Chinese solar supply problem.
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PANEL TECHNOLOGY
“There’s a missing gap. The ingot wafer is a missing gap,” REC Silicon’s Sutton said. “You have people on one end that say we need to let more cells into the U.S. to do this 20 GW [of solar installations] we need. Then you have those people that want to put in cell lines but they want wafers, which can only come from China right now. So, you have this gap. “They want to have these U.S. facilities, but your choice for supply is very limited,” Sutton continued. “For these people to be successful, they either need to accept that’s the way it’s going to be, or we need to get together and invest in ingot and wafer production,” Sutton concluded. In August 2021, California solar panel assembler Auxin Solar and former solar cell producer Suniva filed a petition with the U.S. International Trade Commission to extend safeguard tariffs on imported solar cells and panels through 2026. Within the court
documents, Auxin stated that with continued tariffs (which initially began in 2018 from a completely different case not discussed here), it could bring wafer production stateside. Suniva claims that only with extended tariffs can it restart its dormant solar cell production facility in Georgia. Clearly there are ambitious companies out there, but the future of the U.S. solar manufacturing industry will likely depend on government support — through subsidies, tax credits and competitive tariffs. Back in 2011, Gordon Brinser, thenpresident of SolarWorld Americas, pondered in an op-ed: “The U.S. solar market and solar installations will continue to grow with or without China’s unfairly traded goods. Solar is here to stay. The only question is whether U.S. solar manufacturing will still have a role.” Ten years later, the United States is still trying to sort that out. SPW
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INVERTER TECHNOLOGY
Advancements in utility-scale solar inverter design give developers plentiful options Utility-scale solar projects are getting bigger and bigger, with the largest project approved in the United States (as of August 2021) coming in at a whopping 690 MWAC. Choosing the best inverters for these sites is increasingly important to generate the massive amount of energy these projects strive for. Project developers select inverters before they even submit an interconnection application. Utilities must know those details in order to perform studies that determine the impacts of the solar projects on the grid.
“The inverter is one of the very important components to the studies and basically allows us to see the project at the very early stage of development,” said Vishrut Bhatt, industry segment manager of renewable energy systems at TMEIC. Manufacturers of modules, racking and inverters typically collaborate at the beginning of a project’s lifecycle to give developers the best plan for their projects, according to Maren Schmidt, managing director of the utility line of business at Fimer. “We all have to work together,” Schmidt said. “We have the project
developers, the EPCs, the technical advisors — we have to think in system together with the module producers and the tracker producers because the aim has to be to optimize the yield.” During this planning period, developers are looking at utility requirements, financial objectives and product forecasts, said Brian Taddonio, VP of engineering for Blue Ridge Power, the newly formed EPC arm of Pine Gate Renewables. Developers need to be sure the inverter they’re choosing will still be around two or three years in the future when the project actually breaks ground. “It’s looking at the past history of these manufacturers and where we
TMEIC
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INVERTER TECHNOLOGY
believe they are, how healthy their company is at that point in time and their projections for those upcoming quarters,” Taddonio said. CHOOSING BETWEEN STRING AND CENTRAL
Utility solar project developers have more options than ever for the type of inverter that best suits each site. It’s no longer just a choice between central and string inverters — manufacturers now make “centralized” string inverter solutions where numerous string inverters are grouped together in one enclosure. String inverters offer multiple MPPT (maximum power point trackers) to mitigate shading effects and are easier to swap out in case of failure, minimizing power loss. If one central inverter goes down on a site, much more energy is lost until O&M crews are able to fix the problem. Fimer recently released two new solutions for utility-scale projects: a traditional standalone string inverter and a skid solution featuring multiple string inverters centralized in one spot. Schmidt said the company moved forward with the new centralized design since the cost of string inverters is now nearly on par with centrals.
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INVERTER TECHNOLOGY
TMEIC also offers centralized string inverter solutions via its Solar Ware Ninja line, with power ratings between 730 and 920 kW. These inverters come integrated on one skid, with up to three Ninjas on each side of a centered medium-voltage transformer. The inverter manufacturer previously only made central inverters but saw the value in string solutions for utility-scale projects. Now the modular Ninja line is TMEIC’s primary offering to the U.S. market. Still, some utility-scale contractors are sticking with true central inverters. Blue Ridge chooses centrals for the majority of its projects for their ease of installation, lower cost and add-on storage capability. “While there is always the argument that you can fix a string inverter much
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Once the right spot is determined, it’s time to bring in the inverters. Although transporting large central inverters does require some heavy machinery, Taddonio said installation is a relatively simple process. “Assuming you have that space on the site and you can properly handle that equipment on the site, it gets very efficient to install those units, especially if they come on the packaged skid assemblies,” Taddonio said. Blue Ridge Power cranes the inverters onto the site, then drops them onto pre-drilled screw systems to hold them in place. “You put the screws in, then you drop it right on, you do some welding, you attach it and you’re good to go,” Taddonio said.
Cantsink
quicker than you can replace a whole central and your system’s not down as [long], I think some of the other considerations outweigh that. And we’re still able to properly inventory the spare parts that would be needed for these larger central inverters,” Taddonio said.
Flood zones should be avoided, or the land should at least be built up so water runs away. Blue Ridge also makes sure to be conscientious about siting inverters away from occupied structures, since inverters do emit some noise.
INSTALLING LARGESCALE INVERTERS
Choosing the right spot to mount the inverters if an installer is banking them together is important. The inverters should be easily accessible for O&M techs and kept out of harm’s way, Taddonio said.
SEPTEMBER 2021
Cantsink’s inverter skid mounting solution.
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INVERTER TECHNOLOGY
WHETHER IT’S A LARGE UNIT OR SMALL UNITS IN A CLUSTER, THEY CAN GET ALL THEIR WORK DONE RIGHT THERE IN THAT ONE LOCATION, AND IT REALLY CREATES SOME EFFICIENCY IN THEIR MOVEMENT AROUND THE SITE. Cantsink works with Blue Ridge and manufactures skid mounting equipment for inverters. After working to remediate sinking solar inverter mounts for some time, Cantsink came up with the pre-construction solution to install helical piles under skid mounts to avoid future soil disturbances. “The soils are all very, very different. That’s not always taken into consideration, and so you do have that risk and that high chance of having settling issues over time. That’s not what you want on your project,” said Dara Macias, director of sales for Cantsink. After the skids are secured in place, the commission process is pretty straightforward. Inverter systems like TMEIC’s come pre-wired, requiring installers to simply bring in the DC inputs to individual inverters, connect the AC cables to the transformer and set up any fiberoptics or control networks they need, Bhatt said. “They get to that unit, they get their test equipment out, they sit right there. Whether it’s a large unit or small units in a cluster, they can get all their work done right there in that one location, and it really creates some efficiency in their movement around the site,” Taddonio said. Inverter design and installation on largescale projects sounds daunting, but proper planning, engineering and collaboration among manufacturers helps to make the process as simple as possible. SPW 54
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SEPTEMBER 2021
A DAVDEVRETROTROI R A ILA L
SOLAR SPOTLIGHT:
Backless solar trackers maximize yield for bifacial projects IN THIS SPECIAL EDITION OF Contractor’s Corner, solar tracker and racking manufacturer OMCO Solar discusses the company’s latest innovations in bifacial trackers. Below is a portion of the company’s Solar Spotlight podcast with Solar Power World, but be sure to listen to the full episode on your favorite podcast app. How have OMCO’s trackers evolved over the past couple of years? We have both an ORIGIN monofacial tracker and an ORIGIN bifacial tracker. Our monofacial tracker is a one-in-portrait tracker and it’s a highperformance tracker in the sense that it goes all the way from 60° East to 60° West, and has very good back-tracking capabilities. The bifacial tracker is a two-in-landscape tracker, so the torque tube does not go over the back of the modules. It’s completely open on the back so that you optimize the amount of production from both the front and the back. You have very uniform irradiance on the back and that’s really important for all the cells to get the same level of irradiance for long-term performance. What are the main differences between landscape and portrait trackers? A one-in-portrait tracker is good for monofacial applications. You can do it two-in-portrait and, that can be good for monofacial or bifacial, but www.solarpowerworldonline.com
it’s a high-cost way to do things. In a two-inportrait, you have to put the torque tubes really high, so the installation process usually involves ladders, which adds cost and can be a safety concern. The highest performance for bifacial is a two-in-landscape tracker. The torque tube does not have to be especially high, so it’s relatively easy to install. We also look at the ratio between the cord and the height — if you can get that ratio to be as low as possible, you get more production on the back side. Our ORIGIN bifacial tracker has a lower ratio of cord-to-height than the two-in-portrait trackers on the market, so you can get more backside production. What have you seen as far as response from your customer base on this new product? We knew that people would like it, but we didn’t quite know how much. For instance, the higher degree of protection from row-to-row shading — we wanted to make sure that it was competitive, but we didn’t really know that our customers would be looking at that level of detail the way they have been. Another example is the way that the modules get strung — the cabling from module-to-module. We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback on both of these aspects — customers are saying our Origin bifacial tracker is a really valuable offering.
Tell me about some projects that are currently using the ORIGIN bifacial tracker. Our commercial activity has been really high since we since we’ve been offering this. We’ve gotten more orders than we’ve had for our trackers since we launched by quite a bit. We’re doing projects all over the United States, and we’ll be doing more toward the end of the year. Will you be bringing this tracker to SPI this year? Yes, we will. It’s a challenge to mount modules in the landscape configuration, but we’re going to be showing exactly how we do it with a very unique solution — a folding frame that makes the installation very easy and keeps the shipping costs minimal. SPI in New Orleans will be an opportunity for everybody to see for themselves how we’re doing it. SPW
SEPTEMBER 2021
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BILLY LUDT ASSOCIATE EDITOR
MOUNTING TECHNOLOGY
A-frame supports make solar tracker installation feasible in difficult soil conditions Solar trackers are a common solution for large-scale solar projects, with contractors typically using an I-beam as the mounting foundation choice. As installers break into new markets like the Northeast, where the soil is rocky and ground frost is a risk, the depths I-beams must be driven for proper pull-resistance increases significantly. Many solar mounting and racking manufacturers offer alternative solutions when an easy I-beam installation just won’t work. Two such companies, TerraSmart and APA Solar Racking, have engineered foundational and full system A-frame solutions to address the issue of putting solar trackers on sites with too soft, too
rocky and even frost-heave-susceptible soils. A TRACKER DESIGNED AROUND GROUND SCREWS
TerraSmart has cut its teeth in the solar mounting market with its ground screws. The turnkey manufacturer, installer and geotechnical services provider has made the ground screw the foundation of its company, and the same holds true for its entry into solar tracking. TerraTrak is TerraSmart’s proprietary single-axis solar tracker and parent company Gibraltar Industries’ flagship tracking solution. The system has an A-frame-style footing that uses two
ground screws rather than one driven pile to disperse tracker loads across two smaller supports. “I’ve seen other trackers out there that are modified through some sort of interface to work with a ground screw, but everything from our first design meeting on included the mentality that we’re going to be using ground screws,” said Chase Anderson, senior design engineer, TerraSmart. “We need a tracker that can go in places where driven piles can’t.” Now, after four years of development, TerraTrak is a fully realized single-axis tracker system with a proprietary design, network controller and monitoring software.
TerraSmart
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MOUNTING TECHNOLOGY
While there’s more to it than its mounts, the ground screws TerraTrak stands on are designed to work in rocky, soft/sandy and frost-ridden soils. The threaded section has more tension in softer soils and creates a cone that resists upward force; and with a cored pilot hole, ground screws can be driven and threaded directly into rocks. “If you look at the type of sites that are available, especially in the Northeast United States, there’s not a lot of big, flat land left, and if there is, it’s going to farming and other purposes,” Anderson said. “TerraTrak is really good at providing a solution for clients that allows them to install a tracker on land that may not have been considered before because it has too much terrain, too much outcropping — things that TerraTrak handles well.” TerraSmart has used telescoping legs with its ground screws for a decade on
its fixed-tilt structures and brought that feature to TerraTrak, making the system adjustable within the posts’ length. The tracker is designed to adapt to undulating topographies, meeting slopes up to 20%. Ground screws are driven early in the installation process, making system height something that can be determined later. TerraTrak’s monitoring software provides necessary services like weather analytics, current system output and predictive maintenance. The software can halt operations in sections so technicians can perform spot maintenance while the remaining system continues to produce; and it can stow modules during high wind and weather events. TerraTrak has already been updated to house large-format modules and uses screw-free mounting clips that can essentially be hammered on to keep panels in place. “We as a company offer full turnkey
IF YOU LOOK AT THE TYPE OF SITES THAT ARE AVAILABLE, ESPECIALLY IN THE NORTHEAST UNITED STATES, THERE’S NOT A LOT OF BIG, FLAT LAND LEFT, AND IF THERE IS, IT’S GOING TO FARMING AND OTHER PURPOSES. service in terms of foundations and racking for the fixed-tilt market,” said Michael Faraone, director of engineering for TerraSmart. “We went ahead and did the same thing for the tracker industry where we offer full turnkey from engineering, design, foundations, manufacturing of the tracker and installation of it.”
TerraSmart
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The OMCO Solar Advantage In the last 12 months, OMCO Solar has shipped 1 GW of our branded products, bringing clean solar energy to farms, schools, factories, municipalities, and utilities. Our factory-direct solar racking and tracker products are made right here in America. We ship from four strategic U.S. manufacturing facilities, guaranteeing our customers the shortest lead times in the industry. With over 9 GW of experience, a highly skilled engineering team, focus on innovation, and steel industry know-how, we have the expertise, capacity and scalability to reliably deliver on time, every time to our customers. That’s the OMCO Advantage!
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MOUNTING TECHNOLOGY
MORE FOOTING FOR SINGLE-AXIS TRACKERS
APA Solar Racking developed its A-Frame Tracker Foundation after hearing customer demand for a mounting structure for single-axis trackers that used helical piers or ground screws. “We started developing some concepts and different designs and really decided that this thing’s got to be light and cost-effective because we’re competing with basically a mill-run beam with a couple holes punched in it,” said Joe Von Deylen, COO of APA Solar Racking. Where TerraSmart wanted to build an all-in-one system, APA is offering a foundational solution to work with popular tracking models. The attachment point of the A-Frame foundation uses a standard W section with the same hole patterns compatible with tracking structures offered by Nextracker and Array Technologies. “You can physically take an A-Frame and put it right in the field in a row of driven piles and they’ll match and bolt exactly the same,” Von Deylen said. In those circumstances where soils don’t have strong initial upward tension on an I-beam, helical piers and ground screws
APA Solar Racking
are designed to embed at shallower depths. APA’s helical mounts use a helix or flange mounted near the bottom of the post to similarly create a cone of tension above it to resist pullout. APA encountered single-axis solar projects where geotechnical reports recommended installers drive I-beams to depths of nearly 20 ft.
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“The issue with that is even if you can get equipment big enough to drive a pile that deep in the ground, more than likely, you’re going to hit something before it gets to depth,” Von Deylen said. Then, other concerns are raised from accurately pounding I-beams to that depth and at the correct angle.
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MOUNTING TECHNOLOGY
“If they can’t do that, they’re going back through and they’re bumping the piles to get them plumbed up to within specifications,” Von Deylen said. “Over time, the pile is going to just go back to where it naturally wants to go.” Given the varying topographical features of solar sites, APA manufactures A-Frames on a per-project basis. The APA A-Frame uses a leveling flange at the bottom of the structure to adjust its height independent of the helical or ground screws. Ultimately, APA and TerraSmart are trying to give single-axis solar projects footing with consistent embedment in soil conditions that would otherwise require posts being driven to great depths or major geotechnical work. Installers can now look to multiple mounting solutions for what might previously have been unworkable land. SPW
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STORAGE TECHNOLOGY
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LS Power’s 250-MW Gateway Energy Storage Project located in San Diego County, California, was built by McCarthy Building Companies and was the largest operational battery storage facility in the world at the time it was fully energized in 2020.
How EPCs can command the growing energy storage market Last year was a standout for energy storage. U.S. installations of advanced energy storage — almost entirely lithiumion battery systems — exceeded the 1-GW mark in 2020, and the Energy Storage Association (ESA) anticipates adding 100 GW of new storage resources to the mix by 2030. Experts foresee storage being an important aspect of virtually every utility-scale solar project going forward. And if they’re not installing storage today, more solar project owners want to at least have a storage-ready system
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for easy installation later. The solar and storage industries are already synergetic, and their dual success going forward will depend on EPCs contributing their expertise to both areas equally. SUPPLY-CHAIN CONSTRAINTS
This unprecedented demand for storage has led to supply chain constraints. This is partly being caused by the electric vehicle (EV) market taking up an enormous amount of battery supply — EVs use lithium-ion batteries, which are also the most common battery
SEPTEMBER 2021
type used in solar + storage projects. As new technologies are developed and as supply chain issues escalate, more utilityscale project owners will likely be forced to consider non-lithium options. Mitigating potential risks associated with the use of new technology is one way an integrated EPC firm can assist in evaluating and prequalifying new technologies prior to using them. Conducting extensive due diligence on new technology with the engagement of a third party provides project owners with more analysis and clarity on how projects will function.
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STORAGE TECHNOLOGY
Battery packs inside the Gateway building.
Early engagement and committing to partners at each level within the supply chain is the best way to combat constraints as lead times increase throughout the entire chain. Additionally, early engagement allows the EPC to identify other opportunities that can ease supply chain constraints. For example, prefabrication of various elements of a storage project can help manage supplier issues, enhance schedules and provide price certainty on a project. CHALLENGES MAKE ROOM FOR INNOVATION
Advancements in technology are happening quickly in the storage sector. Through collaborations with partners during a storage project’s
design phase, teams can focus on innovation to fully enhance facility performance and efficiency. Two areas of innovation that McCarthy’s renewable energy and storage team recently assisted with are centered around remote commissioning and reactive power strategy. Remote commissioning: In partnership with a third-party integrator, McCarthy developed virtual technology that allows for remote commissioning of storage projects. This innovation results in an expedited commissioning process, optimized overall schedule and cost savings. Reactive power strategy: By taking a critical look at the use-case of the battery, solar system and
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STORAGE TECHNOLOGY
substation separately, engineers developed a reactive power strategy. Teams evaluate and adjust equipment throughout the design process to incorporate solutions that better address power capacity and interconnection requirements of the utility. This results in cost savings by minimizing the number of inverters and capacitor banks needed in the substation, which also yields schedule benefits. Through an EPC’s extensive knowledge of solar projects’ interactions with utilities and the grid, energy storage projects can be optimized to work at peak performance. A CASE FOR STORAGE-READY PROJECTS
Dependable renewable power sources are crucial as utilities across the country pursue carbon-neutral goals. Knowledgeable EPC firms help developers and utilities with their overall power strategy, taking both solar and storage into account. Ideally, integrating energy storage with a solar PV system should be considered from the beginning of a project’s lifecycle, but adding storage at any stage in development and construction is possible. With current supply chain issues, a long-term approach — building storage-ready sites — may be the best option for solar developers to minimize future costs. Integrated EPCs can provide technical modeling to deploy energy storage systems in combination with the solar facility to optimize the use of key components now and in the future. Storage-ready projects are much more marketable to utilities that are increasingly looking for the grid-stability and reliability benefits that storage offers. EPCs have gained the experience and expertise and have the relationships with developers, independent power producers, utilities and permitting authorities to successfully navigate the complex challenges of storage integration and installation. The key to success for any solar + storage project is working with an experienced EPC team that can guide the site owner to the best possible outcome using innovative solutions and advanced technologies. SPW
A BRIGHTER WAY TO FINANCE We can’t wait to meet you at SPI New Orleans! Find us at booth # 5158!
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BrightOak Phone: 417.877.0263
Stay up-to-date. Stay relevant. Stay connected.
SPI, ESI, and Smart Energy Week September 20-23, 2021 | In-person & digital New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center New Orleans, LA Register now and attend. www.smartenergyweek.com
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NEW
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TO WATCH AT SPI & BEYOND Many
members of the U.S. solar industry are traveling to Louisiana this September for a big, old-fashioned in-person conference. Solar Power International 2021 and this year's North America Smart Energy Week will be in New Orleans, Sept. 20-23. Louisiana may not be a solar leader yet, but the state has some sizable projects slated — the largest being McDonald’s and eBay’s 345MW Ventress Solar Project, which is expected to reach commercial operation in 2023. Residential solar remains a struggle, though. The Louisiana Public Service Commission voted to end
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net-metering in 2019, replacing it with avoided cost compensation. The state’s solar advocates hope to show Louisianans that sun power is the way of the future and should be supported at all levels. “The value of having SPI 2021 in New Orleans cannot be overstated,” said Stephen Wright, executive director of the Gulf States Renewable Energy Industries Association (GSREIA). “The Gulf States region has weathered anticonsumer net metering changes and disinformation concerning the impact of large-scale solar developments. Despite that, our region has the opportunity to be a renewable leader in solar development by embracing third-party
PPAs, community solar and innovative rooftop financing options. We also hope that SPI 2021 will draw more attention to the Gulf States region from solar developers, manufacturers and suppliers to join GSREIA in moving prorenewable policy forward." Although the Delta variant has affected conference attendance, many new products will still be showcased at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Even companies not planning to attend are releasing new products this Fall. Check out a preview of this year’s solar product innovations in the pages that follow. SPW
SEPTEMBER 2021
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2021 SCHEDULED
SOLAR POWER INTERNATIONAL 2021
AEROCOMPACT • BOOTH #2131
COMPACTGROUND COMPACTGROUND is a low-profile aerodynamic ground-mount system offered as a 15° or 20° south-oriented and a 10° eastwest-oriented system. This versatile component-based system is quick to install with minimal tools, which greatly reduces installation time. It can be installed using ground screws or ballasts where ground penetration is prohibited.
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AMPT • BOOTH #5121
APSYSTEMS • BOOTH #4241
Next-generation high power string optimizer
DS3 Microinverter Series
Ampt’s next-generation optimizer leads the industry in power density and enables system owners to use today’s highest power modules, including bifacial panels, to achieve the lowestcost PV plant.
The new DS3 microinverter line from APsystems leads the industry in dual-module power output to harness the peak performance of today’s high-capacity PV modules. The DS3 series launches globally in Q4 in all APsystems business units and is fully backwards-compatible with existing QS1 and YC600 microinverters and accessories.
SOLAR POWER WORLD
SEPTEMBER 2021
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2021 AURORA SOLAR BOOTH #2255
Sales Mode With Sales Mode, solar sales teams can now access Aurora’s 3D-design and sales tool on the go with any tablet. This new product feature makes it even easier to close a sale on the first visit with Aurora’s seamless workflow and loaded features.
AXITEC • BOOTH #1119
AXIblackpremium XL 360-370Wp Aesthetics meet energy in Axitec’s new solar modules. The AXIblackpremium XL modules are perfectly suited for residential installations where an all-black exterior design must match performance.
2021 BCI ENGINEERING • BOOTH #918
Full Tilt Full Tilt is an optimized fixed-tilt racking solution designed to meet the challenges of any job site. Full Tilt can accommodate any module size and offers self-aligning longhorn panel rails, cinch clip compatibility and the option to install modules in the flat position. Its tables are self-squaring, eliminating the need for adjustment.
CAB SOLAR • BOOTH #1831
CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC • BOOTH #1947
CAB Solar Cable Management System
SunScout: Class A Solar Resource Assessment System
CAB Solar produces innovative, costsaving cable management products for use in ground-mount solar projects. CAB’s premier system, the patented Integrated Grounding System, is an overwhelming favorite for projects of all sizes. It allows the messenger wire to be used as the EGC and GEC for even more cost savings.
SunScout is a high-quality SRA system with customization options to meet project owners’ monitoring needs. Featuring remote data communication and modern sensor compatibility from the world’s top tier manufacturers, SunScout is a cuttingedge SRA measurement system. Campbell Scientific’s experienced professionals designed SunScout to provide bankable data because we believe measurements matter.
CANADIAN SOLAR BOOTH #3313
HiKu7, BiHiKu7 -210mm modules These high-power and highefficiency bifacial modules provide up to 660 W of power, the highest wattage level in the market. They were designed specifically to reduce the LCOE for solar plants and set the stage for global grid parity. Ask Canadian Solar how they will benefit your project. 76
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SEPTEMBER 2021
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Lion Sanctuary
™
Lithium Solar Energy Storage System 8kW Hybrid Inverter/Charger | 13.5kWh Lithium Battery
At Lion Energy our entire focus is on safe, silent, renewable power that gives you energy independence. Whatever your needs are, we’ve got you covered. The Lion Sanctuary Lithium Energy Storage System™ (ESS) is a powerful solar inverter and energy storage system that harnesses the power of the sun to power your home, cabin, houseboat or office. Now you can have power in emergencies and during peak cost times, giving you peace of mind, power for your family and cost savings to your wallet.
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2021 CONTINENTAL CONTROL SYSTEMS • BOOTH #5925
New Current Transformers, new features CCS specializes in high-accuracy PV production, consumption and export limiting power metering equipment. Products highlighted at SPI include revenue-grade split-core current transformers (0.2% and 0.3%), a new line of flexible Rogowski coils, new WattNode Modbus Meters, custom NEMA enclosures and a complete offering of multi-channel, multi-circuit metering systems.
ELECTRIQ POWER BOOTH #5329
Eaton reimagined circuit breakers to power the energy transition. Combining circuit protection and digitalization, Eaton delivers real-time energy monitoring and control. Smart breakers offer built-in EV charging, simple grid connectivity and lower install costs for distributed resources.
ETB Monitor – Solar + Storage Monitoring Software
The PowerPod 2 is a home battery and energy management solution that stores energy from solar or the grid. It’s available in 10-, 15- and 20-kWh capacities in AC or DC configurations. The PowerPod includes the batteries, inverter and the PowerHub, which provides energy management, metering and monitoring.
SOLAR POWER WORLD
Smart Breaker
ENERGY TOOLBASE • BOOTH #5441
PowerPod 2
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EATON • BOOTH #42
ETB Monitor is a robust and advanced monitoring software that provides realtime insights into the operational performance and savings of solar and energy storage systems. Directly connected to Energy Toolbase’s modeling and controls software allows project owners to remotely diagnose and correct system issues before they become costly.
SEPTEMBER 2021
www.solarpowerworldonline.com
Everest to K2 Are K2 e W #
We support PV systems K2 Systems is the engineering leader for PV mounting systems. The company now has 9 locations and has installed over 16 GW in 131 countries.
#WeAreK2
Everest Solar Systems has officially changed its name to K2 Systems, find out more by scanning the QR code.
K2 Systems, LLC | 2835 La Mirada Dr Suite A Vista, CA 92081 | info-us@k2-systems.com
2021 FABTECH SOLAR SOLUTIONS • BOOTH #2077
Solar end-of-life planning Showcasing solar end-of-life planning with recycling and refurbishing solutions, FabTech Solar Solutions helps determine how much used solar panels are worth and how much it will cost to recycle damaged solar panels. The company can help create an end-of-life plan for used solar panels.
FLUKE • BOOTH #1338
Fluke IRR1-SOL Irradiance Meter Make the critical measurements needed for maintaining solar panels or photovoltaic systems with one easy-to-use tool. The IRR1-SOL was designed from the ground up to simplify the installation, commissioning and troubleshooting of photovoltaic arrays, measuring irradiance, temperature, inclination and direction of the solar array in a single handheld tool.
FRANKLINWH ENERGY STORAGE BOOTH #4647
Franklin Home Power FranklinWH (watthour) Technologies is a new competitive player to the home energy market and aims to address today’s energy insecurity and bring energy freedom to everyone. FWH provides an AI-integrated whole-home energy management solution that manages and optimizes sources of energy as well as essential and critical loads.
GOODWE USA • BOOTH #3250
A-ES Series Hybrid Inverter The GoodWe A-ES is a split-phase hybrid inverter designed to increase self-consumption of solar power. Compatible with high-voltage (80495V) batteries and up to four MPPTs, the A-ES inverter adapts to complex residential rooftops. It’s equipped with rapid battery charge functionality and capable of powering large loads in back-up mode.
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www.solarpowerworldonline.com
MERCEDES-BENZ McKinney, Texas 787 kW
BAJA builds them better with in-house Sales, Engineering, Project Management and Installation Crews Since 1981 • Built better in the USA for over 40 years by our own unmatched Baja-Certified Construction Teams • Fully Integrated Solutions with in-house Baja Engineers for faster, easier projects • Pre-Fabricated Framing Systems with Bolted Connections - No field welding • Snow Loads from 20psf to 100psf - Wind Speed rated to 175MPH • Over 40MW built per year
1.800.366.9600 : BA J AC ARP O RT S.C O M : EW F @ BAJ AC A R PO R T S.C O M E X P E R I E N C E
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2021 INGETEAM • BOOTH #5129
INGECON SUN 3Power C Series inverter Ingeteam’s C-Series Inverter offers a greater power density with power rating up to 3,700 KV. Its air and liquid cooling system provide a greater thermal stability with IP67/MEMA 4 protection and stainless-steel components. Its innovative control unit features lastgeneration electronics and digital signal processor which performs a more efficient inverter control.
EAGLE TR G4 EAGLE TR G4 features JinkoSolar’s new TR technology, which eliminates cell gaps in the module and increases module efficiency. Available in a 66-cell for residential and a 78-cell (monofacial and bifacial) for commercial and utility, these modules can generate up to 390 W and 475 W, respectively.
KORE POWER • BOOTH #4353
LG ELECTRONICS • BOOTH #3353
KORE Power LFP Energy Storage Solution
LG NeON H+ Black
KORE Power is expanding its product line to include an LFP Energy Storage Solution for the commercial and industrial, and grid-scale markets. The LFP solution will be factory assembled and available in 1,500-Vdc and 1,000-Vdc voltage classes, ready for delivery in Q3 2022. Our U.S. production begins in 2023.
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JINKOSOLAR BOOTH #3513
SOLAR POWER WORLD
SEPTEMBER 2021
The new LG NeON H+ Black features gapless technology for a stylish appearance as well as LG’S CELLO cell technology for maximum efficiency and performance.
www.solarpowerworldonline.com
NEW!
ENHANCED U.S. BATTERY’S NEW AGM DEEP CYCLE
batteries feature a CARBON-ENHANCED negative active material that improves charge acceptance and cycling performance.
WWW.USBATTERY.COM USB_SPW_821.indd 1
8/12/21 10:00 AM
2021 PEGASUS SOLAR • BOOTH #2209
Pegasus Rail System Designed in collaboration with installers, Pegasus Rail System improves rooftop installation at every step. Splice instantly, without tools or interference. Use the Multi-Clamp for 30-40 mm frames, both as a mid- and end-clamp. Quickly manage wires for life with no zip ties. Bond rows instantly without tools, lugs or copper.
QUEST RENEWABLES • BOOTH #1724
Windmaster Working with the U.S. Department of Energy, Quest Renewables has developed racking that is resilient to wind speeds of 183 mph. The Windmaster is a groundmount system that leverages Quest’s knowledge of wind performance upon grouped arrays. The system will be installed in Florida and Puerto Rico in 2022.
QUICKBOLT • BOOTH #707
Split-Top QB2 QuickBOLT’s QB2 with Split-Top L-Foot marks the most recent addition to the popular product line. This variation offers a straightforward solution with competitive pricing from QuickBOLT. The company will showcase the new addition along with other variations of the QB2 kit at SPI.
RATEDPOWER • BOOTH #1862
pvDesign Save 85% of the time spent designing PV plants and reduce several weeks of engineering work to a few minutes. Development, EPC and engineering firms use pvDesign to streamline their workflows and report a 5% decrease in LCOE by using RatedPower software.
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www.solarpowerworldonline.com
A DAVDEVRETROTROI R AILA L
SOLAR SPOTLIGHT:
How fintech can boost solar company margins and ROI IN THIS SPECIAL EDITION of Contractor’s Corner, leaders at solar installation business management platform BluBanyan and bankto-bank payment software firm Paystand talk about how financing technology can help boost solar company margins and ROI. Below is a portion of the company’s Solar Spotlight podcast with Solar Power World, but be sure to listen to the full episode on your favorite podcast app. How does the SolarSuccess platform from BluBanyan drive reductions in soft costs? Jan Rippingale, CEO, BluBanyan: We are looking for mostly error reduction and an automation of tedious tasks. This includes calculating commissions that will properly account for the adders that you have, calculating how you’re going to pay your installers and tracking that as the project changes over time. For example, if you’ve got a different roof size than you initially spec’d, you’re going to have a different number of modules. That changes the system size, which changes all the math. Having that change automatically reflect and flow through the entire system is what helps us to reduce those errors and reduce those soft costs. Then, we connect with partners like Paystand to bring in that extra juice to make sure that we can minimize the soft costs as best we can. www.solarpowerworldonline.com
Rippingale: If I could just emphasize that, Mark —they can choose to do these bank-to-bank transactions that have no credit card fees. It is something that takes solar installers aback on a regular basis. Fisher: We think the payment infrastructure as it exists today is a hindrance to businesses. It penalizes them for growth — the more that businesses charge, the more they pay in transaction fees. We believe the business model should be different. Our bank-to-bank network is entirely zero-fee. We can eliminate that 2.5-3% credit card fee from every payment, and that is a game-changer. Our entire business model is subscription-based, so in the same way that as a consumer, you used to go to blockbuster and pay VHS or DVD per-transaction fees, then Netflix How can Paystand’s payment technology came along and eventually just charged a flat improve ROI for solar companies? fee every month to stream as much as you want Mark Fisher, VP of marketing, Paystand: Many — that’s how we operate. You subscribe to the solar businesses have razor-thin margins, so Paystand platform, and within a certain volume tier, it’s challenging to gain meaningful ROI. Solar you can process as many payments as you want. companies really are looking for novel, creative That’s the first way we boost ROI for ways to boost their ROI. Paystand as a technology companies. The second way is we’re big believers can really help there. You can think of us as a in automation, so we automate a lot of the manual Venmo for businesses, making that payment processes out of the finance cash cycle. Finally, transaction seamless, easy, intuitive, and much, we speed up time-to-cash. Time-to-cash is critical much cheaper. We believe that the payment process should be feeless, so we’ve built a bank-to- for every company, but especially in this industry bank payment network that allows payers to simply where margins are so thin. Having that money to connect their bank directly to the solar company or invest back in the business and more strategic projects is key. SPW the merchant in the same way that you or I would pass money via Venmo, with modern security WWW.PAYSTAND.COM standards that are robust. How does Paystand technology fit into the SolarSuccess program? Rippingale: The SolarSuccess program is built on NetSuite as an accounting platform and Paystand also integrates with NetSuite as an accounting platform. If you’re a SolarSuccess client, we’ve got the email templates that you need for solar clients and the basic structures that you need for Paystand setup initially, so you can benefit from them immediately. When installers choose a fee-free, bank-tobank transaction via Paystand, they’re saving 9¢/ watt on that subset of clients in addition to being able to reconcile and make other kinds of back-end processes run more smoothly for everybody else.
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2021 RENU ROBOTICS • BOOTH #1507
Renubot The Renubot by Renu Robotics solves many vegetation problems for asset owners and O&M providers. The autonomous lawnmower can mow day or night, is safe and reliable and significantly cuts vegetation management costs.
S-5! • BOOTH #1319
SILFAB SOLAR • BOOTH #5040
PVKonceal
Silfab Elite- SIL-420 BM
The PVKonceal module skirt is the newest addition to S-5!’s PVKIT 2.0 direct-attach solar solution for metal roofs. It conceals the lower edge of modules and all components underneath, creating a clean and finished look. It also keeps critters, debris and other unwanted objects out of the solar array.
Silfab Elite SIL-420 BM module is the latest entry in the company’s back-contact, MWT series. Reduced front cell metallization minimizes conductive losses and improves performance, reliability and efficiency. Lower NOCT enhances energy yield up to 3% annually. It’s a premium triple-black panel that’s ideal for residential installations.
SMA AMERICA • BOOTH #5221
SNAKE TRAY • BOOTH #1438
Unique Applications for Large-Scale Storage Solutions
Solar Snake Max XLTM
Large-scale storage will be a main focus at SPI for SMA, with Sunny Central Storage on hand for customer interaction. The product’s unique gridforming capabilities allow for cuttingedge applications such as blackstart, which can bring a plant online when no grid is available.
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Visit Snake Tray’s booth to learn how to harvest up to 8% more power by using the company’s new trenchless cable management system that snaps together in seconds. The Solar Snake Max XLTM maintains code compliant air separation of cables with no need to derate cables.
www.solarpowerworldonline.com
2021 SNAPNRACK • BOOTH #2045
SOL-ARK • BOOTH #5419
SpeedSeal Technology
Sol-Ark 15K Limitless Inverter
SpeedSeal Technology speeds up installation by contractors who are lagging to a rafter without in-between components and mitigates damage to the roof from installation. Locate the rafter, fill the sealant cavity and secure to the roof. SpeedSeal Technology compresses sealant into the cavity and shingle surfaces as the SpeedSeal Foot is secured.
Sol-Ark’s new Limitless Inverter can eliminate customer overload calls with 15-kWAC power (30 kWpk) and a 200-A whole home UPS transfer switch. This new inverter is batteryagnostic, outdoor-rated and available in nine-unit stackability for home and small commercial use up to 135 kW.
SOLAR DATA SYSTEMS BOOTH #1863
Emazys Z200 PV Analyzer The Z200 is a portable, battery-powered tool that detects ground faults and failures and pinpoints the exact location of the failure within the array. Detect intermittent faults, work even under low irradiance and locate failures on the first site visit. Save an average of 2.5 hours per troubleshooting task.
SOLARIA • BOOTH #1011
PowerXT 425RPL panels Solaria’s PowerXT 425RPL panels use Pure Black technology for premium aesthetics. The modules weigh less than 50 lbs — the lightest weight per sq. ft — ensuring easy handling. Optimized form factor delivers more power, lower installation costs and the best system economics. High aspect ratio facilitates more roof fit options.
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SOLAR PILE INTERNATIONAL BOOTH #819
Solar X-Blade Pile
Solar Pile International’s SXBP revolutionizes pile solutions. The component installs at shallower depths, ideal for frost heave and reactive zones, and can penetrate hard soils and cobble to eliminate predrilling. Installation is efficient with a system designed to beat conventional pile installations.
www.solarpowerworldonline.com
2021 STÄUBLI ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS • BOOTH #3221
Original MC4 Connectors Stäubli’s MC4 photovoltaic connectors are the global industry standard and can be found on more PV modules than any other connector system in the world. The MC4 family of PV connectors are rated up to 1,500 V and 70 A and are available for 14 through 8 AWG cable configurations.
SUNBRUSH • BOOTH #1101
SunBrush mobil Lift SunBrush’s latest product, the SunBrush mobil Lift, is the ideal solution for cleaning carport and rooftop photovoltaic systems. Its lightweight design allows for mounting on lifting platforms, enabling an efficient and safe clean. The patented WashTronic float system, alongside a built-in warning system, optimizes the contact pressure on the panels.
SUNFOLDING • BOOTH #2345
Sunfolding T29 Single Axis Tracker Learn about an upgrade to the Sunfolding T29 Single Axis Tracker that unlocks value for projects on complex terrain and expands the boundaries of where largescale solar can be profitably deployed.
SUNMODO CORP. • BOOTH #2311
NanoMount SunModo’s newest patented NanoMount eliminates the need for lifting shingles and dramatically reduces installation time. NanoMount has the flexibility to cover a wide range of scenarios and preferences with its versatile base that can be used for either rafter or deck mounting. The product is HighVelocity Hurricane Zone approved.
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www.solarpowerworldonline.com
The 1 P Tra c ke r by S o l te c
soltec.com
PAT E N T P E N D I N G
2021 TERRAGEN SOLAR • BOOTH #2068
Tilted Pitched Roof Mounting System TerraGen announces a new metal roof mounting solution with a bottom-rail that removes the row spacing confinement from the seam spacing. It offers flexibility to direct load transfer into the building structure (purlins) and not through the roof profile; allowing installers to structurally qualify more metal roof buildings for a tilted PV system.
TIGO ENERGY • BOOTH #5354
Tigo Energy Intelligence Solution Tigo Energy simplifies solar installation fleet management with its latest software service, the Energy Intelligence (EI) Solution. This Tigo monitoring solution maximizes uptime, minimizes O&M costs and simplifies the commissioning of solar installations. This platform provides fleet, site and module-level analytics at a granular level.
TRINA SOLAR • BOOTH #3228
Residential 210mm Vertex S modules Trina Solar will be unveiling the residential 210mm Vertex S module series at SPI 2021. The high-powered, high-efficiency module delivers increased value to homeowners. The modules’ innovative third-cut cell technology allows for widespread compatibility with solar components, reducing risk potential during installation and commissioning.
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www.solarpowerworldonline.com
HARVEST MORE POWER DON’T LEAVE YOUR ELECTRONS ON THE TABLE
VISIT US AT SPI - BOOTH # 1438
Solar Snake Max XL
™
LET US SHOW YOU HOW TO INCREASE YOUR REVENUE FOREVER! The physics of separating cables with patented Solar Snake Max XLTM creates multiple benets:
• Open air means no trenching, substantially lowering the cost of labor and materials
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• Cables in free air yield higher efficiencies in harvesting energy (up to 8%)
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• NEC 310.15 code compliant cable separation requires no derating of the cables • Mounts with messenger wire or aluminum rails to any vertical pilings or poles • Accommodates cables ranging from 350 Kcmil up to 750 Kcmil • Snap together modules require no tools • Insulation-Piercing Connector (IPC) compatible
YEARS
CALL 800-308-6788 TO DISCUSS YOUR NEXT SOLAR PROJECT US Patent #8985530, #8783628 and other Patents Pending.
www.snaketray.com | 800-308-6788 | Made in the USA solar-power-world-aug-2021-full-page.indd 1
8/5/2021 1:58:43 PM
CONTRACTOR'S CORNER
CONTRACTOR’S CORNER:
SolareAmerica Big-name, multi-site contracts can increase a solar installer’s standing in the industry, but for SolareAmerica, a partnership with the Wawa convenience store chain only built on the 12-year-old company’s legacy. In this episode of the Contractor’s Corner podcast, John Scorsone, president of SolareAmerica, talks about the gaspump solar canopies and groundmounts involved in the Wawa project portfolio, and how it has provided the company with a front row seat to the emerging EV charging market as well.
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A portion of the interview is below, but be sure to listen to the full podcast for even more insight, including how COVID-19 is still affecting product supply today. Find the Contractor’s Corner podcast on your favorite podcast app. How did SolareAmerica get its start? It came about through my experience of 12 years with the oil and chemical industry. I was on the dark side for quite some time. I always had a large territory, which included California, and in my travels back and forth to California, I noticed what was going on with deregulation and how solar was
SEPTMBER 2021
becoming viable. So I got interested, but why it became an obsession was how similar solar seemed to me historically to how the oil industry started — basically, they were running out of whales and needed a source for kerosene. So they found a spot in Western Pennsylvania that was famous for oil, and lo and behold the oil industry started. To me, solar was a similar situation. Now we’re in the 21st century and solar is going to replace coal, gas and hopefully all fossil fuels. I ended up taking classes for renewable energy design. When I left the oil industry, I started another company but always had solar in mind. I decided to pull the trigger and start SolareAmerica officially in 2009.
www.solarpowerworldonline.com
CONTRACTOR'S CORNER
How did solar canopies and carports become an early niche for SolareAmerica? I still do not like carport designs aesthetically. We had customers that wanted to go solar but did not want to put them in their parking area. So we, being a can-do company, decided we’d find the solution. We fully expected there to be another company out there with a solution that was better than carports, but we found there isn’t one. We partnered with an MIT engineer and came up with our own design which we’ve since patented — a long-span canopy. It came out of wanting to satisfy a customer need and having to invent something. Are you doing EV charger installations? That is the hot topic now in 2021. I don’t believe we talk to a customer that does not ask us about car charging and solar canopies. It’s a huge growth industry right now. I think [EV chargers and energy storage] are going to grow up together. As the electrical vehicle market continues to grow, obviously charging stations are going to need to follow suit. As far as home or commercial battery use, they will follow suit because the price of batteries will fall with the increase of battery usage in the auto industry. SPW
www.solarpowerworldonline.com
I DON’T BELIEVE WE TALK TO A CUSTOMER THAT DOES NOT ASK US ABOUT CAR CHARGING AND SOLAR CANOPIES.
Podcast Alert! Listen to this and other Contractor’s Corner episodes on your favorite podcast app.
SEPTEMBER 2021
SOLAR POWER WORLD
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AD INDEX
LEADERSHIP TEAM VP of Sales Mike Emich 508.446.1823 memich@wtwhmedia.com @wtwh_memich
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Associate Publisher Courtney Seel cseel@wtwhmedia.com 440.523.1685 @wtwh_CSeel
Chem Link ................................................... 75
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Chint ........................................................... 31
QuickBOLT .................................................. 57
Continental Control Systems ...................... 46
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Renu Robotics ............................................. 50
EagleView Technologies ............................. 73
Rolls Battery ................................................ 53
Environmental Products & Applications Inc ...6
Shoals Technologies Group ........................ BC
Fimer North America .....................................5
Sistine Solar ...............................................IBC
FLUKE ......................................................... 51
SMA ............................................................ 49
Fortress Power ........................................... 67
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FTC Solar .................................................... 39
Solar Pod .......................................................6
Generac Power Systems.............................. 65
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Hardrock Drilling LLC .................................. 30
Staubli ......................................................... 45
IMO Automation ......................................... 32
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Ashley N. Burk 737.615.8452 aburk@wtwhmedia.com
K2 Everest Systems ..................................... 79
Sungrow Power Supply Company, LTD ....... 23
Kensington Electronics, Inc ......................... 74
Sunmodo .................................................... 40
Lion Energy ................................................. 77
Swinerton Renewable Energy ..................... 87
Jami Brownlee 224.760.1055 jbrownlee@wtwhmedia.com
LS Energy Solutions ................................... 89
U.S. Battery Manufacturing Co. ................. 83
M Bar C ....................................................... 18
Virginia Transformer Corporation ................ 33
Megger ...................................................... 19
Western Land Services ................................ 46
Managing Director Scott McCafferty 310.279.3844 smccafferty@wtwhmedia.com @SMMcCafferty
SALES Jim Powers 312.925.7793 jpowers@wtwhmedia.com @jpowers_media Neel Gleason 312.882.9867 ngleason@wtwhmedia.com @wtwh_ngleason
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www.solarpowerworldonline.com
SOLAR THAT BLENDS IN...
...OR STANDS OUT
custom aesthetic overlay protector compatible with any module brand
www.sistinesolar.com
info@sistinesolar.com
The first and only above-ground, patent-pending system that does not require combiner boxes or in-array trenching, and can offer $avings in the field up to 62.5%
®
field o&m torquing cable trays trenches re-combiners combiner boxes
The BLA (Big Lead Assembly®) takes all the guesswork out of wiring your solar field. Using Shoals’ latest in-line fuse and wire manufacturing technology, we offer you a site free of DC string combiners. The entire load is combined into a single pair of aluminum conductors running from the string combiner to the inverter. There’s no need to trench for DC feeders or hang string combiner boxes. And when terminated with the BAC connector, the whole array is plug-&-play. Plug in the panel strings, plug into the inverter, and just walk away!
1400 Shoals Way, Portland, TN 37148 USA
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+1 615.451.1400
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sales@shoals.com
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www.shoals.com