Solar plant designs are changing. With these posts I’d like to contribute with several new technologies that I’ve developed over the last couple of years.
In my last two posts I’ve presented two variations of the X10 solar plant design, where the solar panels were installed either in a „close to portrait“ or in a „close to landscape“ orientation. Both arrangements help the solar panels to stay cleaner due to better evacuation of (dirty) water. This anti-soiling-effect can be further increased by rotating the panels some 45 degrees into a „middle position“. Therefore I call this the X45 solar plant design.
Like before you’re always very welcome to discuss the systems. Please feel free to like or share this posting. You can also invite me to your personal LinkedIn network if you would like to discuss these technologies personally. Please note: We do not manufacture solar products, e.g. solar racking systems. We are offering direct licenses to solar project developers on a pay-per-site basis.
SOLAR PLANT DESIGN (3): X45 LOW SLOPE SOLAR PARKS
Adressed solar problems:
- yield losses due to soiling
- limited ground coverage ratios due to shading effects
Most of today’s solar panels are embedded in aluminum frames. At low slope angles the lower frame rail of the panel builds a horizontal raised rib at the lower edge of the module. This rib causes a back-water effect. The filthy water is not correctly run off resulting in the accumulation of dirt on the glass alongside the lower frame rail. This often results in significant loss in yield.
X45 solution: rotate the panel, lower the slope angle, reduce the distance between the lines.
The X45 solar system overcomes this problem in a simple, yet extremely effective way: By rotating the panel by some 45 degrees on its own plane, the horizontal corrugation disappears. The lower frame rails now both show slopes ensuring proper runoff of rainwater. In fact, by rotating the panel by 45 degrees the slope angles of both the longer and the shorter panel frame rail are identical. Thus the panel will remain clean, even at lowest slope angles. Therefore the slope angle can be reduced to eight degrees or lower, allowing for a much better ground coverage ratios of over 80%.
Main benefits:
- perfect self-cleaning capabilities for reliable energy yields
- lower module angles for higher ground coverage ratios
- off-the-shelf hardware, easy installation
- the solar panel’s „max. load“ clamping zones are fully respected
- reduced maintenance cost due to longer module cleaning cycles