In the days before utility-scale solar facilities stretched to the horizon, vegetation management wasn’t a worry; a small crew could handle it. One longtime industry pro recently told me this was still true as recently as 10 years ago. For the many O&M directors whose number one budget concern is vegetation management, however, that may seem like a hundred years ago. Generally speaking, as utility-scale output escalated, the pr....

Figure 1: Blade bearing cage after 5 years in operation Blade or pitch bearings connect a wind turbine’s blade to the turbine hub. These critical components are designed to hold the large aerodynamic, gravity, and rotational forces from the turbine’s blades. Most onshore wind turbines use a 2-row 4-point (2R4P) bearing design. These bearings generally consist of a cage to separate the balls, bearing seals on the hub and blade sides to ....

The standardization of the solar industry is crucial to its success. With a push towards cleaner and greener energy sources, ensuring a common data standard for all participants will allow the solar industry to achieve its potential, providing benefits to society as a whole. One way to help standardize data and enable process automation in the solar industry is through the use of Solar Automated Permit Processing Plus (SolarAPP+). Sola....