Alternative Energy White Papers

With so many module manufacturers in the market, an extensively broad range of module choices are available to meet the needs of many different global markets. Morningstar’s MPPT controllers have a very wide voltage input range with which they can make use of these many modules for charging batteries in the off-grid market. However, finding the best fit and knowing how to correctly size them is sometimes challenging. This document discusses solar module sizing, and power ratings, and answers some of the more frequently asked questions in order to help make sense of the many options available on the market.

Providing a simple, cost-effective battery backup PV solution for grid-tied systems has eluded solar PV manufacturers and installers for years.

Morningstar’s MPPT charge controllers use the TrakStar advanced control MPPT algorithm to harvest maximum power from a Solar Array’s peak power point. It is generally accepted that even the most basic MPPT controller will provide an additional 10‐15% of charging capability, when compared to a standard PWM regulator. Besides this extra charge capability, there are several other important differences and advantages between PWM & MPPT technologies—these basic differences & advantages are outlined in this whitepaper.

Large off-grid and battery backup PV systems, often require greater charging than a single controller can provide. To meet the charging requirements of these large systems, several TriStar™ or TriStar MPPT™ controllers can be connected in parallel to a battery bank. Each controller is connected to its own separate PV array. This document provides answers to frequently asked questions, and tips concerning the operation and setup of these large multiple TriStar and TriStar MPPT controller systems.

Weather is the root cause of most solar insurance claims in North America. While extreme weather is inevitable and increasingly common, catastrophic solar project losses are not. The first installment of a two-part white paper from Nextracker provides actionable content for insurers, financiers, developers, asset owners and EPCs to assess and mitigate extreme weather risks to utility-scale solar power plants. By using differentiated single-axis tracker design and intelligent control capabilities to mitigate these risks, stakeholders can meet financial expectations and unlock new and varied solar development opportunities

O&M services are seeing a huge push in new technology and data driven tools which are becoming fundamental during the operational phases, however, these technologies don’t come cheap. One of the ways in which O&M costs can be reduced, is by ensuring that PV plants are designed with O&M in mind… Understand how you could reduce your O&M costs whilst maintaining quality with this free Reuters Events: ‘How to Design a Solar Farm with O&M in mind’ Whitepaper.

The main focus of the white paper was in comparing the different stow strategies on the market, and how they hold up in real life situations. “The rapid expansion of solar PV across the globe makes an in-depth assessment on the long-term security of all major components of a PV system more important than ever – with trackers being perhaps the most important of all BOS components,” said Dr. Thorsten Kray, Head of Building Aerodynamics at I.F.I. and co-author of the paper “The 30° stow strategies that are common with other large tracker companies simply don’t offer the same peace of mind as a 0° strategy – when you look at the results, and when you think about how many high wind events a plant might see in its 30 year lifetime, the benefit actually becomes quite clear.”

Considering the impact of high current output on the junction box and inverter, module size on the installation, handling, transportation and logistics, Trina Solar has taken the lead in proposing a third-cut solar cell, 5*30 cell layout based on 210mm oversized wafers, with the perfect combination of Multi-Bus Bar, non-destructive cutting and high-density cell interconnection technology, which make the Vertex reaches 500W-plus power output and 21%-plus efficiency. The product design also takes into account the compatibility of downstream systems, paving the way for the Vertex in system integration and application.