As a fervent advocate for solar power and an industry expert, I constantly look for new advancements and strategies within this vibrant industry. It’s my aim today to delve into a somewhat technical, yet fascinating issue that touches the realm of utility-scale solar power: the problem of solar trackers and how to mitigate damage from high wind events. This could be beneficial for homeowners and solar companies alike who want to maximize the efficiency of a solar array for home use.
Solar panels, when faced with high wind conditions, must be tilted into a stowed position to prevent potential damage. This common practice however has a downside – it leads to production losses as solar panels cannot track the sun efficiently in this position.
A company named Array Technologies, well-known for providing solar tracker systems, has come to the rescue with an intriguing new method called ‘passive stowing’. This approach was put to the test in a comprehensive study by independent design firm DNV.
Unlike in an active stow system, where the entire array of panels is moved out of the tracking position during wind events, the ‘passive stow’ system only stows the exterior rows and a small fraction of the interior ones. Consequently, most of the solar panels continue to track the sun normally, even during an event. This results in less energy loss.
Findings from the in-depth DNV study showed a considerable decrease in energy production losses with passive stowing. While conventional active stowing resulted in a 2.8% average annualized energy loss, with worst cases leading up to 4.3% annual energy losses, passive stowing led to only a 0.05% annual energy loss.
Why is this significant? Wind events rank as the second highest cause of insurance claims in the last three decades, just underlining the growing importance of measures to mitigate this loss. Passive wind stow technology not only reduces these risks by maintaining higher operational efficiency during wind events, but also offers consistent reliability in energy production forecasts.
In short, the passive stow system can be a true game changer for solar companies striving to maximize production from their solar panels for your home or any large scale solar arrays. With companies like Array Technologies pioneering forward-thinking practices such as these, I’m excited to see what the future holds for solar technology.
Original Articlehttps://pv-magazine-usa.com/2024/05/07/passive-solar-tracker-wind-stowing-boosts-energy-production/
