Alternative Energy White Papers

An “8760” (sometimes known as a “typical meteorological year,” or “TMY”) is a year-long hourly time series of expected generation for a wind or solar project. As the name implies, an 8760 contains generation values for all 8,760 hours of a year (non-leap year) and captures the typical seasonal and diurnal generation patterns at the site. Despite their widespread use in the renewable energy industry, there are two particular use cases of 8760s that can lead to significant errors in revenue estimation: 1) the pairing of an 8760 with a non-concurrent price time series and 2) the use of an 8760 as an input to a forward-looking price model.

The Inflation Reduction Act offers a myriad of incentives to super charge the growth of clean energy technologies, including solar, energy storage and electric vehicles. The timing is critical as each of these individual technologies must be deployed at breakneck speed to reach key decarbonization targets and curb climate change. To be successful in the long term, it’s critical to devise policies, business models and partnerships that drive greater coordination between the technologies to optimize their benefits. Improved integration is already happening, especially by combining solar and energy storage to accelerate the adoption of EVs. But a more holistic approach to technology, policy and infrastructure is needed. This paper explores the massive opportunity— and the challenges — of integration at scale.

Last year, TÜV Rheinland performed thorough on-site verification and technical review on PID Zero, and the result shows that PV and hybrid inverters equipped with the PID-Zero solution can suppress PID during the day and repair module damages at night, ensuring long life and efficient operation of the modules.

Lead your business to a transformative energy solution, one that delivers benefits that go beyond the lowest possible cost.

The Northeast holds much potential for profitable solar, but developers need to be well prepared for weather and terrain challenges, or risk eroded budgets and decreased IRRs. Engaging an expert with a deep understanding of the region’s unique risks—and is equipped with the know-how to overcome them—is invaluable in boosting your margins and gaining maximum returns from your site. In this guide, learn strategies to tackle the region’s extreme weather and tough terrain, as well as how a beginning-to-end solar solutions partner can ensure the success of your projects.

With growth in the Northeast, frost heave will become a common challenge that developers and EPCs face. Improperly designed and installed solar projects could cause equipment damage, overextended schedules, and budget overruns. To minimize these risks, it’s important to engage with the right expert; one that can accurately calculate loads for frost depth and has a decade of in-field experience. Mike Faraone, Director of Engineering at Terrasmart, shares the common mistakes to avoid when planning for frost heave.

Check out our fourth annual report on PV system underperformance. Learn which anomalies impact power the most and gain insights into trends over time. We’ve used machine learning to analyze data from aerial thermal inspections across 20 GW of utility and C&I systems. The dataset spans 66 million modules in 32 countries including those from a range of installation types, geographies and climates.

FTC Solar takes a proactive approach in designing for both static and dynamic wind effects. This webinar and white paper details FTC’s differentiated approach and our engagement with third-party engineering firms Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin Inc. (RWDI) and Engineered Power Solutions Inc. (EPS) to further confirm the reliability of our unique solution to wind effects through modeling and testing of both static and dynamic wind forces.

A Framework for Producing Zero Carbon Electricity and Serving Ecosystem Enhancement & Conservation

A three-part series on metal roofing and solar PV. Part 1 focused on Solar/Roof Service Life comparisons. Part 2 explains the common types of mounting systems for metal roofs, associated risks and pros/ cons of each. Part 3 will dig into more detail and the critical technical factors for solar PV systems specific to mounting on metal roofs.

The two common types of BESSs are lead-acid battery and lithium-ion battery types. Both essentially serve the same purpose. However, approximately 90% of BESS systems today are of the lithium-ion variety. Lithium-ion batteries are so well adopted because they provide a high energy density in a small, lightweight package and require little maintenance.

The AIM Act received bi-partisan support as well as support from industry. The Act jointly addresses climate change and job creation. From a climate change perspective, it is believed that AIM will help the planet avoid an increase of .5°C in global warming.

These wind turbines experience failures and setbacks, which can lead to accidents that include both property and personnel loss. One recognized factor for these accidents is fire. Fire is second only to blade failure and is one of most common factors causing property and personnel loss.