The post Why the First Dominican Republic Solar Tracking Site Chose ARRAY Trackers: Case Study appeared first on ARRAY Technologies.
]]>The Dominican Republic (DR) is in the process of overhauling its power grid. The goal is to generate 25% of the country’s power from renewable sources by 2025 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050. However, building out a reliable clean power grid in unpredictable weather proved to be challenging.
The need for extreme weather management called for a photovoltaic (PV) tracker with proven dependability in real-world settings. This case study looks at:
In the same way technology constantly evolves at an exponential pace, ARRAY continues to innovate. The DuraTrack system has continued to evolve with numerous installation advantages introduced since the original Alamosa installation.
Download our Dominican Republic case study for all the details!
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]]>The post Türkiye Project Pushing the Boundaries of Utility-scale Solar Chooses ARRAY DuraTrack: Case Study appeared first on ARRAY Technologies.
]]>With its geographic location, Türkiye has favorable attributes for renewable sources of energy, particularly solar. However, usable land for solar can be hard to find in Turkey and the terrain can be extreme.
The Kıvanç-2 GES project, in Gülnar, Mersin, Türkiye, adds a generous 52.5 MWp of solar to the grid and sits atop a mountain at an altitude of 1,100 meters. The north side of the site features a sharp cliff with a 600-meter altitude difference facing strong winds during the winter and summer. With these harsh conditions, solar trackers capable of withstanding high wind conditions were essential.
In this case study, we look at the solutions and results provided by ARRAY DuraTrack®, including:
Working to actively solve problems on the ground with STC Solar while delivering the most dependable single-axis tracker on the market made for a successful and visually stunning final product that is making Türkiye’s aggressive renewable energy goals possible.
Download our FREE case study to learn more!
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]]>The post Dead Sea / Karameh, Jordan appeared first on ARRAY Technologies.
]]>With ample sunshine, Jordan is a prime location for solar. However, high corrosion and heat levels near the saline-heavy Dead Sea pose challenges for the installation and longevity of solar tracking structures. ARRAY’s DuraTrack® HZ v3 solar trackers proved the perfect solution to meet these challenges.
At 254 meters below sea level, the location is one of the lowest points on earth and features an extra-terrestrial environment with high heat and corrosive salt levels. Batteries would be problematic in this area, due to their inability to withstand extreme high temperatures. High power density and reliable solar trackers resilient against corrosion would be crucial to the project’s success.
Kits preassembled off-site saved time for the installers, getting the project online faster and keeping labor costs low. With a single clamp per module, one fastener per clamp, and 15,000 fewer fasteners per megawatt than competitors.
Without the need for batteries, temperatures reaching 100ºF (38ºC) and corrosive elements are no issue for ARRAY’s DuraTrack HZ v3 in this extra-terrestrial environment.
Download our FREE case study to learn more about the installation and durability benefits of the DuraTrack HZ v3 in harsh environments.
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]]>The post Lamesa Solar Facility / Texas appeared first on ARRAY Technologies.
]]>With its combination of quick delivery, installation efficiencies, and a unique technical design that requires no scheduled maintenance, the DuraTrack HZ v3 is the perfect tracking solution for utility-scale solar projects, particularly in regions that present challenging terrain or meteorological conditions.
For example, the 131 MW (dc) Lamesa Solar Facility in Dawson County, Texas experienced inclement weather immediately after groundbreaking, threatening the delivery schedule and installation of project components planned for the initial weeks. However, ARRAY’s installation-efficient solar trackers sped up construction rates, completing the project on schedule, with the following benefits:
Installing roughly 81 tracker rows per working day, the Lamesa site required 25% fewer onsite workers compared to other solar tracking projects of comparable size.
Originally expecting a 15-day commissioning period, ARRAY’s trackers saved five working days, completing project commissioning well ahead of schedule.
Download our FREE case study to learn more about the Lamesa Solar Facility and the delivery and installation benefits of the DuraTrack HZ v3.
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]]>The post Aydin, Türkiye appeared first on ARRAY Technologies.
]]>Türkiye has made tremendous strides in the development of its renewable energy sector, with perhaps most notably, the allocation of more than two billion dollars for the production of wind and solar energy. These sources of funding, or tenders, are part of Türkiye’s ambitious plans for the future of renewables and a holistic set of economic growth targets.
Türkiye plans to increase solar utilization rates and areas of operation, while maximizing production from their current capacity. The country’s current installed capacity is around 3 GW and a minimum of 10 GW is the target goal for 2030. To help accomplish this, Türkiye has vowed that the latest technological advancements will be observed and implemented. With this in mind, Turkish solar developer, STC Elektronik partnered with ARRAY to develop a portfolio of solar projects, totaling 24 MW.
Download our FREE case study to learn more about the Türkiye solar projects and extreme terrain flexibility of the DuraTrack HZ v3.
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]]>The post Parkes Solar Farm / Australia appeared first on ARRAY Technologies.
]]>Australian households currently pay the highest energy prices in the world. As a result of high gas and electricity prices, utilities have been compelled to provide homes and businesses with greener and more cost-effective renewable energy sources of power. With additional financial support from the local government, the region has become an unstoppable hotspot for utility-scale solar installations like the ARRAY-powered Parkes Solar Farm in New South Wales.
For 18 weeks, the project site saw the installation of 2,300 tracker rows and 206,000 photovoltaic (PV) modules. Altogether, the site spans 600 acres and provides 66 megawatts (dc) of renewable energy, enough to power 21,000 local homes.
The DuraTrack HZ v3 boasts a streamlined design and a high amount of upfront kitting, requiring no additional bolting or explicit row alignment to install the system.
The v3’s streamlined design allowed a team of 70 onsite workers to install the project in just 110 days, including all structural, mechanical and electrical components of the project.
Download our FREE case study to learn more about the Parkes Solar Farm and the streamlined design and installation benefits of the DuraTrack HZ v3.
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]]>The post Cantil, California appeared first on ARRAY Technologies.
]]>The meaning of the word Cantil is “steep rock,” which gives some insight into exactly what designers were looking at for this solar site in Southern California. Cantil, California, lies between the Mojave Desert and the Red Rock Canyon.
With project site specs including uneven ground necessitating multiple row-to-row spacing and five foundation sizes, creative site design and clear vision were essential. Add in a high-wind environment, desert flood depth zones, and the need for seismic impact parameters in this earthquake-prone region, the engineers had their work cut out for them.
Download our FREE case study to learn more about the installation and durability benefits of the DuraTrack HZ v3 in complex environments.
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]]>The post Executive Summary – PV Tracker Lifetime Cost Assessment: A Comparative Case Study appeared first on ARRAY Technologies.
]]>Conducting a comprehensive lifetime cost assessment can provide asset owners with valuable insight into component selection and how this selection can affect PV plant lifetime revenue projections. Choosing components with an accurate estimate of total lifetime cost of ownership would allow stakeholders to improve profitability and minimize the operational risks of a project, particularly in the context of relatively short contractor warranty periods.
ARRAY Technologies Inc., one of the leading suppliers of PV tracking technologies, retained RINA Consulting as an Independent Engineer to perform a lifetime cost comparative assessment of popular single-axis tracker architectures currently available in the solar PV market.
This assessment is structured in three phases:
Phase 1 – PV Tracker Lifetime Cost Methodology
Phase 2 – Model based on the Methodology
Phase 3 – Comparative Case Study utilizing the Model
In Phase 3 of this assessment, an analysis comparing ARRAY Technologies’ centralized tracking system with a market-standard, decentralized, single-axis tracker architecture was performed utilizing the PV tracker analysis model, PVTrax© which RINA developed from the methodology.
This comparative case study has been performed for a specific sample project location, a hypothetical 100 MWp PV plant somewhere in California, to ensure a fair comparison between the two trackers.
This assessment estimates the lifetime OPEX of the two distinct tracking architectures — centralized and decentralized — and compares the impact of tracker failures on the lifetime performance of the PV plant. In order to illustrate the lifetime OPEX, it is assumed that both tracking technologies have the same CAPEX.
The two-primary metrics for lifetime cost analysis are Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) and Net Present Value (NPV).
Approach 1: Multi-row tracking system (Tracker A, employing a centralized architecture)
ARRAY’s Tracker A features articulated rotating drivelines with a disconnecting capability. This design introduces a great improvement with respect to traditional centralized architectures and makes it suitable for a variety of land topographies used in utility-scale PV plants as it does not require extensive grading prior to construction.
Approach 2: Single-row tracking system (Tracker B, employing a distributed architecture) Tracker B is a self-powered distributed system driving each row with a single drive motor, a controller, a battery, a battery charger, and a solar module. This system uses up to 32 times as many motors, controllers, and autonomous power supply systems than the centralized tracking system.
Comparing the operational and maintenance requirements for cleaning and mowing, Tracker A drivelines create small incremental operational costs due to the need to disconnect and then reconnect the drivelines.
This case study offers analysis showing that the robust design of the components in Tracker A are less likely to fail even though a motor failure could affect a larger number of rows. The case study goes on to show an additional 13,000 MWh are produced over the PV plant’s lifetime with ARRAY’s centralized architecture.
This case study details that Tracker B, utilizing a distributed architecture, requires a greater number of components that logically increases preventive maintenance, corrective maintenance, or both when compared with a centralized tracker architecture. The use of more components in a distributed architecture creates more potential points of failure and increases risk of plant downtime. Typically, and as in this case study, distributed architectures contain components such as batteries and sensors which have a significantly lower life expectancy which add up to much higher unplanned operational expenses.
This case study highlights that while both tracking solutions initially are quite equal, it becomes evident that Tracker A, or the centralized architecture, is significantly more economically favorable after year 5.
Although Tracker A, the centralized architecture, features slightly higher specific fixed operational costs due to driveline tasks for mowing and cleaning, variable costs are significantly greater in Tracker B, the decentralized tracker architecture. The decentralized architecture incurs higher variable costs due to the contribution of components with a shorter lifetime (e.g. batteries) together with a far greater number of components.
Over the first five years, both tracker architectures have equivalent costs. But after the expiration of the typical 5-year tracker supplier warranty, Tracker B, the decentralized architecture, incurs higher costs from year 6 until the end of the lifetime of the plant.
This case study shows Tracker A’s centralized design creates appreciable savings and significantly improves asset profitability over the lifetime of the PV solar plant. Key drivers in the lower lifetime costs of the centralized tracker architecture are higher uptime and lower corrective maintenance.
For more detailed analysis, including access to tables and charts showing the inputs and results of each portion of the case study, please read the full report, methodology and view the PVTrax© tool
The post Executive Summary – PV Tracker Lifetime Cost Assessment: A Comparative Case Study appeared first on ARRAY Technologies.
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