Alternative Energy White Papers

Rooftop solar has come a long way over the past decade. The ever-improving quality of equipment and components, enhanced level of expertise, consumer-friendly financing and huge price drops have all contributed mightily to turning residential and commercial/industrial solar into a thriving multibillion-dollar construction/energy sector in the United States and other countries. As the industry grows and more contractors get into the solar business, we know how important it is to provide useful tips and solid information on installation best practices from the mounting perspective—especially those that help installers keep their operations lean, the quality of their work high, and their businesses profitable.

This program is one of the most thorough of its kind, guided by a multistep inspection protocol at sites in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East and staffed with some of the most experienced scientists in the solar industry. This team of experts has compiled global data from 6.5M modules, 355 Installations and 1.8GW of Total Power

In recent years energy storage has emerged as a key ally for the renewables industry, allowing excess production to be stored and sold when market conditions are favorable. And while the addition of batteries to renewable projects was originally a costly exercise, a rapid fall in the price of lithium-ion battery technologies now means solar and wind plants can be equipped with significant levels of energy storage and still remain competitive.

The robust design fully supports the array weight ensuring that all loads flow from the modules down through the racking system and into the ground – without placing secondary stresses into the modules or depending on the modules to brace the system. By protecting the most important component of your solar system, the solar power modules, Solar FlexRack safeguards solar project budgets.

Environmental monitoring is critical to optimizing the efficiency of solar power generation. Beginning with site assessment, on-site meteorological monitoring factors into overall project performance and ROI. Weather stations provide reliable data on parameters such as solar radiation, wind speed and direction, temperature, and precipitation that influence location and efficiency of solar panels.

Design, equipment, fields of application: Many things have changed with quadrupole mass spectrometers (QMS) over the last 30 years. They have become more compact, durable, versatile and digital. Initially used primarily in research, QMS are nowadays utilized in the semiconductor industry, freeze-drying or leak detection, for example.

Dive into the three phases of the 51st State Initiative that initiated the creation of novel ideas for a better energy future. As a capstone to the 51st State Initiative, this paper captures the evolution of thinking through the initiative’s phases.

Developed by the SEIA Quality Assurance Working Group, this document was designed to update installation best practices originally developed by the Solar Access to Public Capital (SAPC) working group organized by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and is intended to be updated as proper protocol dictates. The primary intention of this document is to provide recommended best practices to facilitate high-quality and consistent residential solar projects. The broader objective in developing and maintaining this document is to build confidence among potential solar customers, regulators, investors, rating agencies, and other stakeholders in the concept that residential solar systems are a valuable home improvement, a consistent and long-term electric generating resource, and credit-worthy investment asset class.

Key data highlighted in the white paper includes more than five years of outdoor weathering at 3M’s state-of-the-art, geographically diverse test locations (3 outdoor sites representing 3 distinct climates). The data shows virtually no film degradation and most importantly, consistent optical performance of the film and electrical output of the test modules.