Page 15 - North American Clean Energy November December 2015

this means utilizing both ballast and with diagnostic software tools to guarantee a Kate Trono is SunLink’s VP of products and services.
connectors. he end goal is the same: consistent, maximum output. In order for solar to She leads SunLink's product management group,

allow for more solar to happen in more be priced for future growth, it is essential that it directing the company’s strategy and execution related
places, no matter the site constraints.
no longer be labeled an uncertain, variable energy to its entire portfolio of roof-mount, ixed-tilt ground-
• Accommodating uneven terrain, supply.
mount, and tracker products, as well as the company’s
whether on the roof or ground. For the PowerCare service initiative.

roof, this follows on the same logic as
the previous point—allow for more roof- SunLink | www.sunlink.com
mount projects to happen. On the ground,

accommodating uneven terrain eliminates
site grading requirements, thereby
reducing the cost of installation.
• Integrated mechanical and electrical
designs
, thereby reducing the electrical
BOS costs and eliminating trenching on
the ground.

By developing products with this bigger
picture in mind, market expansion can be Every row deserves
driven into 2017 and beyond.

freedom of expression
Long-term ROI
Beyond reducing upfront project expenses,
solving the market pricing challenge
requires increasing long-term returns on

investment. his is where project services
become such a crucial part of the mix.
For a PV system to realize its full potential, each row needs the power to track
A sensitivity analysis using ranges of
inputs typically cited by SEIA as well as the on its own. NEXTracker recognizes the value of independence with the new
Self-Powered Tracker (SPT), an innovative system that maximizes design
U.S. Department of Energy conirms O&M lexibility, cuts installation costs and simpliies O&M to the extreme.
costs are a signiicant factor in a project’s
inancial success. But traditional O&M Taking advantage of NEXTracker’s distributed architecture, SPT moves the
sufers from a lack of context. For example,
remote power source and backup power from the outer edge of the array
project energy yields may be compared to self-contained units on each row. As a result, the system improves tracking
against a lawed model, resulting in the accuracy and makes it possible to individually position rows for fast, free
O&M provider misrepresenting the relative and easy maintenance.
behavior of the system. Additionally,

with so much variability in the types of
monitoring systems available, what they
monitor and at what level, or even the
learning curve associated with analyzing

data from a new platform on each project,
an O&M provider may not be equipped to
make decisions to improve the project’s

yield. By intelligently monitoring a system
at the string level, it is possible to gauge
a project’s performance over time and
determine exactly what is contributing

to inadequate performance so it can
be remedied. When O&M operates in
4-5x faster with NEXTracker
Less eicient
a targeted, responsive way, long-term
ROI improves dramatically. Additionally,
• PlugandplaytechnologywithnoexternalpowerwiringandnoUPSbackup
platforms based on a REST API allow
any other operator or owner maximum • Modulecleaningandvegetationmanagement4-5xfaster
lexibility in how they view their project
data and control its performance.
• Real-timemonitoringofeachrowforsimplemaintenanceandlong-termreliability
Technology innovations and integrated
service oferings provide higher assurances
at lower price points, ensuring solar is the From a functional standpoint, NEXTracker’s independent row feature
right long-term investment.
demonstrates smart engineering. For O&M, we can isolate and travel

Reliable solar energy
freely in any direction. And that saves time and money.
Long-term market penetration requires
solar energy reliability. Nothing will have — Scott Bailey, Chief Operations Oicer, Stronghold Engineering

more inluence on the selling price of solar
energy, either by selling reliable energy
as a standalone or ofering dual revenue
streams; solar energy and frequency
NEXTracker.com for more information | Twitter @NEXTracker
regulation services. As an industry, it is
important to innovate solar + storage
conigurations on the DC side, combined

North American Clean Energy15
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