September/October 2018 Residential Solar-Plus-Storage Systems

®
®

O p t im a l D e s i gn, I n s tal l ati on & Perfor m anc e so la r pr ofe ssi onal . c om

Evolution of c-Si
PV Cell Technologies
Solar Power 
International
An Equipment and
Vendor Preview for
SPI 2018 in Anaheim

3-Phase
String Inverters
Comprehensive
Specifications for
88 Inverter Models

Projects
Borrego Solar
Sacramento Airport
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Contents September/October 2018 Issue 11.5

Fe a tu re s

42

18 Evolution of c-Si PV Cell

32
Technologies 42 3-Phase String Inverter
In this article, we briefly explore the history, anatomy, Specifications
physics and lexicon of crystalline silicon (c-Si) PV
Updated for 2018, SolarPro’s 3-phase string-inverter
cells. We then consider the evolution of modern high-
dataset includes electrical and mechanical specifica-
efficiency c-Si PV cells. Finally, we consider some of
tions for 88 inverter models from 16 manufacturers.
the most promising paths forward to higher-efficiency
Due to the modularity and scalability it offers, this
and lower-cost c-Si PV modules for terrestrial applica-
product class has become a popular power conversion
tions. As this story tells, it can take a lot of time—and
option for high-capacity commercial, industrial and
a measure of good luck—for a solar cell technology to
utility-scale projects.
journey from the research laboratory to a format that
DATA COMPILED BY SOLARPRO
facilitates mass production and a cost structure that
enables commercial market opportunities.
BY BLAIR REYNOLDS

32 Solar Power International

2018 Preview
After a two-year absence, Solar Power Interna-
tional 2018 returns to Southern California for
4-day residency at the Anaheim Convention Cen-
ter, September 24–27. Produced by Solar Energy
Trade Shows, SPI is a collaboration between
the Smart Electric Power Alliance and the Solar
Energy Industries Association. Co-located events
include Energy Storage International, Hydrogen +
Fuel Cells North America, and the Smart Energy

18
Microgrid Marketplace. With more than 620
confirmed exhibitors and over 1,500 companies
already represented, the producers hope to draw
20,000 industry professionals to Anaheim.
BY DAVID BREARLEY

4 S O L ARPRO | September/October 2018

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Contents 2 September/October 2018 Issue 11.5

12
D e p a r t m ent s
FRONT END
8 Contributors Experience + Expertise

10 The Wire Industry Currents

12 QA Quality Assurance
Residential Solar-Plus-Storage Systems

BACK END
46 Advertiser Index

47 Projects System Profiles

Borrego Solar, Sacramento International Airport

f ON THE COVER Namasté Solar’s

Jason Ortiz wraps up the roof work on a 3.85 kW
residential PV system in Fort Collins, Colorado.

47
The system includes high-efficiency 350 W
LG crystalline silicon modules, a SolarEdge
inverter and module-level power optimizers,
and an Ecolibrium Solar railless module-
mounting system.
Photo: Courtesy Namasté Solar

10
6 S O L ARPRO | September/October 2018
 SOLAR
RACKING
SOLUTIONS

IN-HOUSE
ENGINEERING,
DESIGN, AND
INSTALLATION

Contact Us!
Direct inquiries:
[email protected] BOOTH #1220
(513) 242-2051
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rbisolar.com
@rbisolarinc Septermber 24-27, 2018
Anaheim, California
Contributors Experience + Expertise
®

Publisher/Editor Joe Schwartz

David Brearley is the senior technical Managing Editor Kathryn Houser

editor for PV systems at SolarPro. His Senior Technical Editor/PV Systems David Brearley
solar education began at the San Juan
Technical Editor/PV Systems Ryan Mayfield
College Renewable Energy Program
in Farmington, New Mexico. Brearley Engineering Editor/PV Systems Blake Gleason, PE
became NABCEP certified in 2004.
Creative Services Midnight Oil Design
After working for a national distribu-
tor, he transitioned to commercial and Copy Editors/Proofreaders Kim Saccio-Kent,
residential PV system integration in Gail Nelson-Bonebrake
Austin, Texas. Advertising Directors Kim Bowker, Connie Said
Data Manager Doug Puffer

Blair Reynolds is the residential Proud supporter of:

product manager at SMA America,
where he specializes in solar and
energy storage applications. He has
more than 11 years of experience
in solar. He earned a BS in physics
from Davidson College and an MS
in photovoltaic engineering from the
University of New South Wales.

g C O N TAC T U S
Joe Schwartz is the CEO of Home
Power. He serves as the publisher Subscriptions Advertising
View subscription offers at: For advertising opportunities, visit:
and editor of SolarPro and Home solarprofessional.com/subscribe solarprofessional.com/advertise
Power. Schwartz attended Solar
Send subscription questions to: Western States Sales Office
Energy International in 1995 and
[email protected] Connie Said, Advertising Director
worked as a PV, wind and hydro [email protected]
systems integrator prior to enter- Update your account information at: Direct: 541.326.5773
solarprofessional.com/myaccount
ing technical publishing. He holds a Eastern States Sales Office
Limited Renewable Energy Techni- Letters to the Editor Kim Bowker, Advertising Director
Email your comments and suggestions to: [email protected]
cian license in the state of Oregon.
[email protected] Direct: 541.858.1791

Industry PR Marketing
Send news and equipment releases to: Promotional opportunities and offers:
Josh Weiner is the CEO of SepiSolar, [email protected] [email protected]
a national solar+storage design and
engineering firm based in Fremont,
Copyright © 2018 Home Power, Inc. Contents may not be reprinted or otherwise reproduced
California. After completing a BS from without written permission. SolarPro is a registered trademark of Home Power, Inc.
UC Berkeley, Weiner began his solar While SolarPro strives to publish only safe and accurate content, we assume no responsibility
career at Akeena Solar and went on or liability for the use of this information.
to co-found Green Charge Networks. Interior paper is made from 85%–100% recycled material, including 20%–30%
In addition to leading SepiSolar’s postconsumer waste.

engineers, he consults for developers National Electrical Code®, NFPA 70® and NEC® are registered trademarks of the National Fire
Protection Association, Quincy, Massachusetts.
and manufacturers on solar+storage
technologies, microgrids and policies.
SolarPro | PO Box 68 | Ashland, OR 97520 | US

8 S O L A R PR O | September/October 2018
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the Wire Industry Currents

SolarEdge Introduces P850

Commercial Optimizer
[Fremont, CA] SolarEdge has introduced the P850 2:1 commercial
power optimizer, which replaces its P800s power optimizer model.
The P850 connects two modules in series and is designed for com-
patibility with two 60-cell, 72-cell and bifacial modules. It supports
up to 850 W and is rated for 12.5 A at up to 120 Vdc. The P850 has a
redesigned bracket to simplify clearance requirements. It is backward
compatible with P800s power optimizers and can replace the P800s in all
projects. The existing SolarEdge P800p power optimizer is typically used to
connect two 96-cell high-current modules in parallel. Together, the P850 and
P800p power optimizers address the growing deployment of higher-power
and higher-current modules.
SolarEdge / 510.498.3200 / solaredge.com/us

Planet Plan Sets Enphase Energy and

Launches Solaria Announce AC Module
[Placentia, CA] The recently launched Planet Plan Sets [Petaluma and Oakland, CA] Enphase Energy and Solaria have
streamlines the process of obtaining third-party permitting partnered to produce the Solaria PowerXT-AC model. The ac
plan sets for residential PV and energy storage systems. module integrates Enphase’s IQ 7+ microinverter with Solaria’s
Its base product offering includes full, detailed plan sets all-black high-power 355 W module. The proprietary PowerXT
with three-line diagrams; a site view showing equipment platform uses Solaria’s advanced cell interconnect and module
locations, conduit runs and fire setbacks; racking system production processes. The IQ 7+ Micro, Enphase’s seventh-
specifications; weather sealing and foundation details; generation microinverter platform, has advanced Smart Grid
attachment spacing; wire and conduit sizing; intercon- features and supports 60- and
nection specifications; grounding information; placard and 72-cell PV modules at up to
signage details; 440 W with peak output power of
and product 295 Wac. The microinverters are
specification certified compliant with NEC 2014
sheets. Planet and 2017 rapid-shutdown require-
Plan Sets also ments and meet requirements for
offers structural engineering documents stamped by a distributed solar on utility net-
licensed professional engineer with all calculations for works included in California’s Rule
a specific project, custom-engraved house placards 21 and Hawaiian Electric Com-
designed to meet NEC requirements and solar intercon- pany’s Rule 14H. Integrators can
nection application processing. Integrators submit all procure the PowerXT-AC module
project information via the company’s website and receive from Soligent at locations around
a completed permitting plan set in 2–3 business days. the US.
Pricing for the base plan set product is $249 for a grid- Enphase Energy / 877.797.4743 /
direct PV system of up to 10 kW and $349 for a system enphase.com
that incorporates energy storage. Solaria / 510.270.2500 / solaria.com
Planet Plan Sets / 866.898.6886 / planetplansets.com Soligent / 800.967.6917 / soligent.net

10 S O L ARPRO | September/October 2018

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QA Quality Assurance

Residential Solar-Plus-Storage Systems

W
hile interactive PV sys- backup power is the primary goal, low, but offer relatively modest utility
tem designs are relatively contractors are designing for peace savings since they cannot shift much
straightforward for most of mind rather than ROI. While these energy in time.
homes, residential solar-plus-storage customers may only realize the value of
designs are inherently more chal- their energy storage investment on rare Understand the Market
lenging. Contractors need to educate occasions, they may be willing to over- Many customers want to have their
customers and understand their proj- size a solar-plus-storage system so they cake and eat it too—they want a solar-
ect goals, navigate additional design can back up critical loads for a period plus-storage system that provides
considerations and make informed of days. energy security while generating a
technology decisions—and all of this More commonly, customers are positive ROI. Though residential energy
must take place in an evolving regula- interested in a solar-plus-storage storage markets in the US are expand-
tory environment. system as an investment strategy. In ing, the market needs to provide the
Here I provide residential solar these scenarios, service providers need right combination of policies, incen-
contractors with some guidelines and to determine whether customers are tives and rate structures to allow cus-
best practices for designing solar-plus- looking to maximize the internal rate tomers to save money while improving
storage systems that meet or exceed of return (IRR) or avoided utility costs. service reliability.
customers’ expectations. Though I These are two very different goals with Service providers play an important
focus on residential applications, much meaningful design implications. In a role in determining project feasibility
of the information also applies to com- time-of-use bill management scenario, and setting customer expectations.
mercial projects. for example, large-capacity batteries This requires an understanding of
tend to maximize revenue available utility incentives, rate structures and
Define Customer Goals from energy arbitrage while diminish- interconnection requirements; operat-
As for any PV system, contractors need ing the IRR, because the equipment ing cost obligations; risks associated
to design solar-plus-storage systems costs are high. By comparison, smaller- with potential utility policy changes;
with their customers’ goals in mind. capacity batteries tend to maximize the and any factors that impact a payback
While this point may seem obvious, it is IRR, because the equipment costs are analysis, such as cash flows or future
too often overlooked in energy storage
applications, whose functional versatil- Customer services Rocky Mountain Institute has identified four customer-facing
ity is a potential trap for designers. use cases for energy storage in behind-the-meter applications.
Residential energy storage systems
can provide secure backup power,
allow time-of-use bill management or
increased PV self-consumption, or even
moderate residential demand charges.
However, no one battery or battery-
based inverter is the ideal tool for every
application. To select the best energy
storage components, technologies and
system architectures, designers must
identify and focus on their customers’
Co u r t e s y R o c ky Mo u n t a in I n s t i t u t e

project goals as early as possible.

Some customers want to add bat-
teries to improve service reliability.
They may have experienced a prolonged
grid outage in the past, have loads that
require secure power, or simply wish
to avoid the inconvenience of an out-
age, even in circumstances where ser-
vice interruptions rarely occur. When

12 S O L A R PR O | September/October 2018
cost savings. Understanding fluctuating Incentive Program (SGIP) for residen- information about critical loads,
market conditions is as complicated tial energy storage, depending on their the desired duration of autonomous
as it sounds. However, it is essential utility provider and SGIP reservations. operation and the expected PV system
to determine final up-front costs and Net Metering 2.0 also requires that solar production. They also need as-built
ongoing costs over time. customers switch to a time-of-use (TOU) electrical diagrams of the home and
Anyone who has worked in solar rate schedule. Even in situations where any existing electrical systems.
sales knows that many customers who incentive program funds are unavail- Critical loads are any electrical
start off interested in PV systems with able, this structure may tilt the balance loads that the energy storage system
backup power capabilities ultimately in favor of adding energy storage to an will support in the event of an outage.
decide to go with a simpler interactive interactive solar system so that it can Ideally, designers should work from an
system after considering the costs and shift solar production in time to offset itemized list or spreadsheet identifying
financial returns. However, the oppo- energy use during peak pricing periods. all the loads and characterizing them
site is true in some states with high Since rate structures vary by utility, based on utilization voltage, power (or
levels of solar penetration. In Hawaii solar providers working across multiple current) ratings, duty cycle (number of
and California, for example, some pro- service territories also need to adapt operating hours per day) and so forth.
spective customers become interested project designs to optimize system per- Since customers can manage lighting
in energy storage when they learn it can formance based on each utility’s rates and receptacle loads during an out-
actually improve PV system economics and interconnection standards. age based on battery state of charge,
due to changes in utility rate structures designers can rely on generic load
or interconnection policies. Ensure Adequate Capacity assumptions to a certain extent. But it
Customers in California, for example, To properly size battery and inverter is very important for designers to have
may have access to a Self-Generation capacity, system designers need detailed information about larger loads,

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 QA
especially nonresistive inductive or designer to determine design tempera- storage “appliances” can streamline
capacitive loads. If the energy storage tures as well as AHJ permitting, inspec- sales and installation. However, system
system will support motors or pumps, tion and interconnection requirements. designers still need to evaluate tech-
for example, designers need to know nologies and equipment configurations
the surge voltage (kV) and ramp rate Maximize Utility Savings to ensure that they specify appropriate
required at start-up as well as the reac- If the customer’s goal is to maximize equipment based on application-specific
tive power (VAR) required to stabilize utility savings or ROI, the battery use cases and installation environments.
the load. These ratings are important system designer will need to assess To optimize system performance,
because the battery-based inverter the utility bill in more detail than is longevity and cost, for example,
and energy storage capacity must be typical in a simple net-metered grid- designers need to identify the right
adequate to support the maximum interactive application. In ROI-sensitive storage technology. Batteries are
expected instantaneous load. applications, designers need the fol- broadly categorized as power type
To convert power (kW) to energy lowing information from the utility or energy type, depending on their
(kWh), designers also need to define bill: current tariff rate and structure, expected discharge frequency and
the expected period of autonomy, be demand charges (where applicable), depth. Power-type batteries are ideal
it hours or days. Customers who want energy charges, fixed charges, eligibility for applications with short charge and
to ride out occasional, short-duration criteria, billing period (start and end discharge times; energy-type batter-
outages are candidates for a battery dates) and address. ies are ideal for applications with long
designed to support a few hours of If solar is already present or pro- charge and discharge times.
autonomous operations, especially if posed for installation, the designer Designers must also consider opera-
they are willing to adjust usage based needs to gather the 8,760 data as well tions, maintenance and code compli-
on battery state of charge. Those who as the system specifications previously ance. For example, lead-acid batteries
wish to prepare for natural disasters, detailed. The designer also needs to require ventilation, temperature-
such as a hurricane or earthquake, or know the preferred interconnection compensated charging, routine main-
who do not wish to moderate usage regime, such as net-energy metering tenance and, potentially, periodic
may be candidates for a battery that (NEM), non-exporting, or net-energy equalization. Lithium-ion batteries
supports multiple days of autonomy. metering multiple tariff (NEMMT), may require fire detection and suppres-
The minimum acceptable energy stor- which allows interconnection of a sion, thermal management and room
age capacity is a function not only of NEM-eligible generator technology to expand as their storage capacity
the loads (power rating and duty cycle) with a non-exporting generator. Energy degrades. Though flow batteries are
and customer expectations (length storage interconnection policies are rare in the US, this storage technology,
of autonomy), but also of the selected constantly evolving, so the designer increasingly popular in Australia and
battery technology (allowable depth of must have access to the utility’s latest Germany, requires double containment
discharge [DOD] and degradation rate interconnection policies and rates, as as protection against electrolyte leaks
over time). these are critical for maximizing the and spills, as well as the usual clearance
If PV is already present or proposed value proposition. for maintenance and access.
for installation, designers also need to Even if the above data are unavail- Regardless of battery technol-
account for hourly solar production able, the designer may be able to rec- ogy, designers need to adhere to the
when sizing the energy storage system. ommend the best option for scenarios manufacturer’s instructions regarding
Industry professionals refer to this such as a given tariff rate, PV system handling, storage, installation, opera-
as 8,760 data, because it accounts for capacity or a balance of autonomy and tion and maintenance. It is especially
every hour of every day for a full year. cost. If not, the designer can conduct a important for designers to evaluate
If these data are unavailable, design- gap analysis to determine which pieces product specifications, including allow-
ers can generate 8,760 data directly, of the puzzle need defining before initi- able DOD, ac power rating, energy
provided they have the following infor- ating a complete system design. rating (kWh), round-trip efficiency
mation: PV system capacity (kWdc), and annual degradation rate. In many
module data (manufacturer, model, Choose Appropriate Technology cases, the product manufacturer may
STC rating), ground-cover ratio ( for Many residential energy storage vendors not provide all of these specifications,
ground- or flat roof–mounted sys- offer cookie-cutter battery-in-a-box making it necessary for the designer
tems), and array tilt and azimuth. Site solutions, often with an integrated to extrapolate them. For instance, the
address is also critical as this allows the inverter. These off-the-shelf energy manufacturer may know the dc energy

14 S O L A R PR O | September/October 2018
rating of its battery but not the ac
rating, in which case the designer
needs to adjust the dc rating based
on the inverter-charger’s round-trip
efficiency and parasitic loads, such
as controllers or HVAC system, to
estimate the ac energy rating. Quality
designs will also account for per-
formance changes over time, since
round-trip efficiencies may decrease
as batteries age.
System configuration is another

C ou r te sy S on n e n
important design consideration. In
an ac-coupled configuration, both
the PV array and the battery have a
dedicated inverter. In a dc-coupled
system, both generator technolo-
gies share a single inverter. There are
pros and cons associated with each Energy arbitrage Utility tariffs with high time-of-use rates—such as PG&E’s
option. AC-coupled configurations E-TOU-B tariff—provide opportunities to monetize energy arbitrage. Customers can
provide a lot of design flexibility in “buy low” by storing solar-generated energy during off-peak periods and “sell high”
terms of generator capacities or future later by discharging during on-peak periods.

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 QA
expansion, but two-inverter solutions safety in mind. Design systems with a manual or automatic transfer switch
tend to be more expensive and have adequate working clearance in and located inside or outside the inverter
lower round-trip efficiencies. One- around the battery, as required by the must isolate the system from the util-
inverter dc-coupled configurations manufacturer’s instructions and NEC ity; once isolated, the battery can
are not only less expensive and more Article 110. If the battery chemistry discharge to loads.
efficient, but also tend to simplify is flammable, keep an appropriately Utility requirements for net-
system design and installation; in rated fire extinguisher in an acces- metered energy storage systems vary.
terms of generator capacities and sible location. In the event of a line- A new policy in California allows
future expansion, however, they are side connection, engage a licensed solar-plus-storage systems to inter-
relatively inflexible. professional engineer to document connect in much the same way as an
and stamp the design. Wherever pos- interactive PV system, provided that
Design for Safety sible, use equipment listed to UL 9540, the system charges the battery from
Like any electrical system, energy stor- Standard for Energy Storage Systems renewable energy sources only. In this
age systems are subject to electrical and Equipment. scenario, solar-plus-storage systems
and fire safety codes and standards. Using products or systems listed to are not subject to non-export inter-
However, this relatively new market UL 9540 minimizes component com- connection rules because the utility
presents unique hazards and inte- patibility issues in the field, reduces knows that solar is the original source
grates relatively new technologies, so custom design and engineering require- of all power exports. Since energy
the relevant codes and standards are ments, and limits liability. If the design storage is an accessory to the PV sys-
constantly evolving in response to feed- calls for equipment that is not UL 9540 tem, it makes no difference whether
back from the field and concerns from listed, ensure that all components— PV-generated energy exports directly
industry stakeholders. battery enclosures, charge controllers, to the grid or first detours through
To address electrical safety in the bidirectional inverter-chargers, trans- the battery.
emerging energy storage market, the fer switchgear, energy management From a financial perspective,
2017 edition of the National Electrical system, critical load panels and over- NEM is most advantageous for solar-
Code introduced Article 706, Energy current protection devices—and con- plus-storage customers because this
Storage Systems. While the NEC ductors are properly rated and sized. interconnection agreement allows
mentions batteries in many other Confirm that ground-fault protection developers to enhance the traditional
articles—most notably, Articles 480 meets NEC requirements and that the net-metering value proposition. In a
and 690—the requirements in Article battery and inverter-charger are prop- time-of-use regime, service providers
706 supersede those found elsewhere erly integrated for power, communica- can optimize the value derived from a
wherever requirements differ. Since tions and controls. solar-plus-storage system by storing
Article 706 is new in NEC 2017, the off-peak solar energy in the battery for
Code-making panel will likely intro- Comply with AHJ Requirements export during peak-pricing periods.
duce meaningful revisions with each Whether designing a system for As long as solar is the only battery-
development cycle until the market security, ROI or other customer-driven charging source, the customer can
and technologies mature. considerations, the designer must claim a 30% federal tax credit on the
The fire safety standards for energy ensure that the end result satisfies entire solar-plus-storage system.
storage are even less developed. The all utility policy and interconnection While it is still early days for resi-
National Fire Protection Association requirements. These requirements can dential energy storage, many analysts
(NFPA) is currently developing NFPA vary depending on whether the energy expect that other states will eventu-
855, Standard for the Installation of storage system exports power. ally follow California’s lead in terms of
Energy Storage Systems. This new The following utility policies gener- incentives, rate structures and inter-
standard will be one of the first to spe- ally apply to non-exporting backup- connection policies. If so, residential
cifically address potential fire hazards power energy storage systems. When solar contractors with the technical
associated with lithium-ion batteries. the grid is available, all grid-export and sales capabilities to offer energy
Regardless of the evolving electrical capabilities must be disabled, via storage solutions can unlock an addi-
and fire safety standards for batteries, either a relay protection device or tional revenue stream for their business
contractors should always follow these a transfer switch; the grid and any and customers.
minimum best practices for designing on-site PV are allowed to charge the —Josh Weiner / SepiSolar / Fremont, CA /
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 Since Bell Labs introduced
the crystalline silicon solar
cell to the world in 1954,
the technology has enabled
exploration in space and
transformed electrical power
systems back on earth.

By Blair Reynolds
C ou r te sy S u n P owe r

EVOLUTION
of c-Si PV Cell
Technologies
18 S O L A R PR O | September/October 2018
A
solar cell is an electronic device that directly
converts sunlight into electricity. Light shining
on the solar cell produces both a current and a
voltage to generate electrical power. This process
requires a material in which the absorption of light raises
an electron to a higher-energy state so that it can break free

Co ur te sy Ma r ti n G re e n
from its atomic structure and move around. Certain metals
n-type
and semiconductors exhibit this trait, known as the photo-
electric effect. Once the higher-energy electron is free, it must
be able to move from the solar cell into an external circuit to (–)
p-type
dissipate its energy. It then returns to the solar cell to com-
plete the circuit. (+) (+)
Sunlight is a form of electromagnetic radiation, and the Figure 1 This illustration shows the cell structure Bell
visible light that we see is a small subset of the total inci- Labs used in 1954 for its Bell Solar Battery, the first modern
dent energy the sun emits. In 1905, while studying the pho- silicon cell.
toelectric effect, Albert Einstein described light as packets
or particles of energy, today known as photons. Even after of the semiconductor transistor, which rapidly achieved
Einstein explained the physics of the photoelectric effect, it economies of scale, ultimately made the Bell Solar Battery
took many years for a practical electrical-generation appli- obsolete for the telecommunications industry at that time.
cation of the technology to evolve. The space race was a critical turning point for silicon-
In this article, I briefly explore the history, anatomy, based solar cells, which would subsequently take off—
physics and lexicon of crystalline silicon (c-Si) PV cells. I literally. On March 17, 1958, the US Navy launched the
then consider the evolution of modern high-efficiency c-Si Vanguard 1, the fourth-ever artificial earth orbital satellite
PV cells, which is a function of important manufacturing and the first to include a PV power source. Whereas earlier
advances as well as innovations in solar cell technologies. satellites relied on battery power only and had a mission
Finally, I consider some of the most promising paths forward duration of days, the solar- and battery-powered Vanguard 1
to higher-efficiency and lower-cost c-Si PV modules for ter- remained in service for more than 6 years. The ability to
restrial applications. As this story will tell, it can take a lot of extend the useful life of orbiting satellites by allowing the
time—and a measure of good luck—for a solar cell technol- sun’s energy to recharge onboard batteries was critical to
ogy to journey from the research laboratory to a format that success in space-based applications.
facilitates mass production and a cost structure that enables Established in late 1958, NASA demonstrated an interest
commercial market opportunities. in photovoltaics, spurring technological advancements that
would lead to the development of more-powerful and more-
EARLY HISTORY reliable PV cells. With further experimentation and refine-
The solar industry widely recognizes Bell Labs as the inven- ment, researchers drastically improved solar cell efficiency
tor of the modern-day solar cell. As solar historian John to around 14% by 1960. Scientists discovered, for example,
Perlin details in From Space to Earth (see Resources), Bell that antireflective (AR) coatings on the front surface of the
Labs tasked a group of scientists with developing a source PV cell helped improve the absorption of light compared
of freestanding power as an alternative to traditional dry- to bare silicon, which otherwise has a surface reflectance
cell batteries, and they began experimenting with photo- of over 30%. Other advancements, such as applying elec-
sensitive materials in 1952. After their initial attempts to trical contacts to the front of the cell rather than the rear,
improve the power output of selenium-based solar cells fell improved manufacturing speed and cost.
short, researcher Gerald Pearson discovered that silicon- In his history of c-Si cell technologies (see Resources), Martin
based semiconductors, which Bell was developing for use in Green notes that while the basic cell design for space applica-
telephone transistors, provided a much more efficient base tions, shown in Figure 2 (p. 20), remained largely unchanged for
material for PV cells. about a decade, a number of improvements came about in the
In 1954, Bells Labs announced its development of the 1970s. Researchers discovered, for example, that adding a thin
Bell Solar Battery, an n-type, rear-contact silicon solar cell, aluminum layer to the back of the c-Si PV cell created a back-
shown in Figure 1, with a conversion efficiency of 6%. In surface field that delivered a significant boost in performance.
spite of media praise for the invention, the company strug- Not long afterward, COMSAT Laboratories boosted perfor-
gled to find a serious market for this device outside of nov- mance further by chemically etching the surface of the c-Si PV
elty items, such as toys or radios run on solar. The success cell to produce pyramidal structures that reduced reflection. By

solarprofessional.com | S O L A R P R O 19
 Evolution of c-Si PV

antireflection adopters of terrestrial solar, deploying PV tech-

top metal finger coating nology for offshore drilling wells. The process of
screen-printing fingers on the front surface of
n-type
a solar cell, such as the one shown in Figure 3,
proved so effective that it is still in use today in
large-scale c-Si PV manufacturing operations.

ANATOMY OF A MODERN C-SI CELL

C ou rte sy Ma r ti n G re e n ( 2 )

The structure of a modern c-Si solar cell is a

stack of layers built up on either side of a sili-
con substrate known as the base layer. Silicon
p-type
crystals are formed by growing a single con-
rear metal tinuous crystal ingot (monocrystalline silicon)
contact or by producing a solid block of many different
crystals (multi-crystalline silicon). The base
layer of the solar cell begins as a thinly sliced
Figure 2 This illustration shows the basic c-Si cell design used for space- wafer of c-Si that is charged either positively
based applications throughout the 1960s. (p-type) or negatively (n-type). Manufacturers
typically dope the p-type wafer with boron,
1974, terrestrial cell performance had achieved conversion effi- resulting in a net positive charge. Conversely, introducing
ciencies of more than 17%. a negatively charged impurity such as phosphorous results
In 1975, Spectrolab pioneered a screen-printing process in an n-type wafer with a net negative charge. (P-type solar
for applying front metal contacts to the solar cell, using a cells are the most common commercial variety and have
metallic paste forced through a patterned template with a held the largest market share among all PV technologies for
squeegee, a process similar to applying graphics to T-shirts. the last four decades.)
As crude as it may sound, this development ultimately led The front surface of the wafer, known as the emitter
to dramatic manufacturing cost reductions and enabled PV layer, is formed by injecting an extremely thin layer of dop-
technologies to become practical in terrestrial applications. ants, which have a charge opposite that of the base layer.
Interestingly, oil and gas companies were some of the earliest Since the near front surface absorbs a high percentage of
light, the primary function of the emitter layer is to absorb
Figure 3 Researchers had implemented the main features incident photons, which in turn generates a pair of oppo-
of commercial c-Si PV cells, such as surface texturing and sitely charged carriers. The intersection of the oppositely
screen-printed metallic contacts, by the mid-1970s. charged emitter layer and the base layer is known as the p-n
junction. This is essentially two physically adjoined layers
150 µm
of silicon crystal with opposite charges, which help sepa-
3 mm rate carriers based on their natural magnetic field.
Bare silicon is highly reflective. Therefore, to reduce
the probability that a photon is reflected off the solar cell,
manufacturers typically apply two additional layers to the
front surface. First, they apply a prismatic texture, resem-
bling miniature pyramids, to redirect photons toward the
cell, thereby reducing the likelihood of reflecting light.
Second, they typically apply a silicon-nitride AR coating,
which helps prevent the unwanted reflection of light in the
n ++ useful spectrum and acts as an effective front-surface pas-
sivation technique.
p-type Finally, they apply metallic contacts to collect the posi-
tive and negative carriers. In a traditional c-Si solar cell, to
p+ form the rear contact, manufacturers screen-print a continu-
ous solid layer of aluminum paste to the rear side of the solar
cell. Also using a screen-printing process, they apply a silver
metal paste to form a grid pattern on the front C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 2 2

20 S O L A R PR O | September/October 2018
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 Evolution of c-Si PV

surface of the solar cell. The size, shape and placement of

these grid lines is extremely important to cell performance.
The electric field that exists
On the one hand, the grid lines block sunlight from reach-
ing the surface of the cell, so they require sufficient spacing at the p-n junction separates
between them. On the other, if you space the grid lines too
far apart, losses may increase due to the inherent resistance the light-generated carriers.
of the cell’s semiconductor material.

PHYSICS OF A SOLAR CELL

At its essence, the job of a solar cell is to generate a pair of impacts an atom in the silicon crystal, it can knock an
oppositely charged light-generated carriers and transport electron loose from orbit around the silicon atom within
these carriers so they can dissipate their power in an exter- the crystal. Once the electron is loose, it is free to move
nal load. As detailed on the PV Education Network web- about the semiconductor and participate in conduction.
site (see Resources), solar cells operate according to four However, when the photon knocks the electron loose
basic steps: Generate light-generated carriers, collect light- from the orbit of the silicon atom, that leaves behind an
generated carriers to generate a current, generate a large empty space for another electron to fill. An electron from
voltage across the solar cell, and dissipate power in the a neighboring atom can move into this empty space. When
load and in parasitic resistances. this electron moves, it leaves behind another space and
The generation of current in a solar cell, known as the so forth.
light-generated current, involves two key processes. This continual movement of the space, called a hole,
The first is the absorption of incident photons to cre- marks the path of a positively charged particle through the
ate a pair of carriers known as an electron-hole pair. If crystalline structure. A moving hole is analogous to a bub-
an incident photon has a high enough energy when it ble in a liquid, except that the crystalline structure does

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22 S O L A R PR O | September/October 2018
not move as a liquid does. Rather, it is the hole that moves. flow through the external circuit, putting the solar cell
Because both the electron and the hole can participate in into operation.
conduction, they are called carriers. Since carriers are mov-
ing through a solid crystal material by joining and rejoin- ADVANCES IN C-SI PV
ing neighboring silicon atoms, their path is not as direct Cell architecture advancements in the 1980s and 1990s pro-
as one might think. They tend to bob and weave as they pelled c-Si PV technologies to conversion efficiencies that
make their way toward the oppositely charged surface of researchers had previously thought unimaginable. As early as
the solar cell. the late 1970s, researchers were experimenting with a tech-
Before a carrier is collected or swept across the p-n junc- nique known as surface passivation, whereby they applied
tion, it is not extremely stable. Therefore, the carrier will an oxide layer to the surface of the solar cell to reduce car-
exist only for a limited period of time, referred to as the car- rier recombination and improve open-circuit voltage levels.
rier lifetime, before recombining with a silicon atom. If the Green’s research group at the University of New South Wales
carrier recombines, then the light-generated electron-hole (UNSW) achieved such success with surface passivation
pair disappears without generating current or power. techniques that in 1985 it produced the first silicon cell to
The second key process for generating current in a solar exceed 20% efficiency. This breakthrough was so extraordi-
cell is to prevent carrier recombination. This is accom- nary that Green has likened the accomplishment to breaking
plished by forming a p-n junction to collect the carriers, the 4-minute-mile mark in running.
which helps to separate the electron from the hole spatially. While the theoretical maximum conversion efficiency
An electric field that exists at the p-n junction separates for single-junction silicon solar cells is around 29%, industry
the carriers. If the light-generated minority carrier reaches experts such as Richard Swanson, SunPower’s retired foun-
the p-n junction, the electric field sweeps it across the der, have concluded that the practical conversion efficiency
junction, and it becomes a majority carrier. Connect limit in commercial mass production is likely in the 24%–25%
the emitter and base layers, and the light-generated carriers range. (See the SunPower white paper in C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 2 5

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 Evolution of c-Si PV

Glossary of c-Si PV Terminology

W hile PV power systems are elegant in their simplicity,
the material science behind module technologies and
manufacturing is considerably more complex. Today, you do
not need to be a rocket scientist to design and install high-
– antireflection
quality PV power systems. In the 1960s and 1970s, however, coating
most of the scientists and researchers who discovered tech-
front contact
niques for improving c-Si PV cell performance were working

C ou r te sy P V E duc a ti o n Ne tw o r k
emitter
with rocket scientists to improve the performance of satel- sunlight
lites. This glossary defines some of the technical terms I use
external
throughout this article to describe c-Si PV cell technologies base
load
and module construction. electron-hole
pair
Base layer: The silicon substrate, the foundation for the rear contact
layers that form a solar cell.
Carriers: Light-generated carriers are either electrons or +
holes (missing electrons) in a solar cell’s atomic structure. Basic c-Si PV circuit Light shining on the solar cell raises
Dopants: Impurities that have a net negative or positive an electron to a higher-energy state, freeing it to dissipate its
charge as compared to silicon. The most common dopants energy in an external circuit.
used in modern c-Si solar cells are phosphorus and boron.
Doping: The technique of intentionally adding a concen- Minority carrier: A carrier that has an opposite charge
tration of impurities to a semiconductor material to vary the compared to the surrounding material, such as electrons in
electric charge. p-type material and holes in n-type material.
Electron: A negatively charged subatomic particle. An elec- N-type silicon: Silicon doped with an impurity that
tron can be either free, meaning not attached to any atom, or results in a net negative charge when compared to pure
bound to the nucleus of an atom. silicon. Negatively charged silicon is typically doped
Electron-hole pair: Incident light that impacts a solar cell with phosphorous.
with sufficient energy will dislodge an electron from its bond P-type silicon: Silicon doped with an impurity that results
in the crystalline structure and thereby create a hole. The in a net positive charge when compared to pure silicon.
negatively charged electron and positively charged hole are Positively charged silicon is typically doped with boron.
a pair of carriers that provide the basic constituents for elec- Photoelectric effect: The release of electrons from certain
tric current flow in the solar circuit. metals and semiconductors in response to light.
Emitter layer: The layer of a c-Si cell that is exposed to Photons: Packets or particles of energy contained in
sunlight. The emitter layer absorbs incident photons and electromagnetic radiation, which includes the visible light
emits charged particles known as carriers. spectrum.
Fingers: Metallic contacts that are typically screen-printed P-N junction: The intersection of the base layer and the
on the front surface of a c-Si cell. oppositely charged emitter layer. P-N junctions form the
Hole: An empty space in an atom’s structure for an basis not only of solar cells, but also of many other electronic
electron to fill. For simplicity, often the hole is visualized devices such as LEDs, lasers, photodiodes and bipolar junc-
as a positively charged particle that can move through the tion transistors.
crystal structure. Single-junction cell: Solar cells with a single p-n junction,
Lifetime (of a carrier): The length of time that a free- as opposed to tandem- or multi-junction cells with two or
moving carrier can exist in the solar cell structure before it more p-n boundaries that respond to different wavelengths
is reabsorbed. of light.
Light-generated carriers: Either electrons or holes, which Surface passivation: The application of an oxide layer to
are essentially missing electrons, in a solar cell’s atomic the surface of the solar cell to reduce carrier recombination.
structure. Terrestrial photovoltaics: PV devices designed for earth-
Majority carrier: A carrier that has a similar charge com- based rather than space-based applications.
pared to the surrounding material, such as electrons in n-type Wafer: A thin slice of c-Si that forms the substrate of the
material and holes in p-type material. solar cell. {

24 S O L A R PR O | September/October 2018
 Solar hot water defined

Resources.) To put the cell technology advances of the 1980s

1
and ’90s into context, consider that researchers produced SOLkit Solar Thermal
the first 24% efficient silicon cell in 1994 and extended this
record to 24.5% by 1998. Fast-forward to January 2018, when
Germany’s Institut für Solarenergieforschung announced that
it had achieved a new international conversion efficiency
record for a single-junction silicon cell of 26.1%. (See the
PVTech article in Resources.)
The fact that it took two decades to improve single-
junction cell efficiencies in the laboratory by 1.6% illus-
trates just how difficult it is to achieve additional incre-
mental improvements in silicon cell performance. It also
illustrates just how advanced silicon cell technologies
were by the 1980s and ’90s. In fact, many of the high-
SOLkit 2
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Many high-efficiency cell

technologies in mass production
2
today date to the 1980s and ’90s. Accelera® Heat
Pump Water Heater
efficiency cell technologies in mass production today date
plus solar electric
to this period of research and innovation. The most impact-
ful advancements during this era were improvements in
the manufacturing process, which drove PV module costs
down from around $70 per watt in 1978, drawing a well-
documented comparison to Moore’s Law.
Interdigitated back contact cells. Researchers at Stanford
University developed the first high-effciency rear-contact
Accelera ® 220 E
silicon cell in the 1980s. Originally designed for concentrat- 58-gal. heat pump water heater
ing PV applications, the Stanford cell was unusual in that it Accelera ® 300 E
placed both the positive and negative contacts on the rear 80-gal. heat pump water heater
surface of the cell. On the face of it, this design is similar
to the original Bell Solar Battery. However, the two cells
operate very differently. By using extremely high-quality
n-type silicon, Stanford’s rear-contact cell allowed light- Engineering & manufacturing
excellence since 1924
generated carriers located near the top surface of the
cell to travel to the rear contacts on the bottom surface of
the cell.
To maximize the efficiency of a solar cell, the carriers 800.582.8423
must travel across the p-n junction as quickly and efficiently www.StiebelEltron.us
as possible. One simple but expensive way to improve carrier
lifetime is to use ultra-purified silicon wafers, as this reduces
the likelihood that a carrier will interact with impurities in
the crystal structure. This is especially true for rear-contact
solar cells, such as the Stanford cell, which need to transport
carriers a further distance.
In 1988, the rear-contact cell achieved a conversion effi-
ciency of 22%. Today, the industry refers to this silicon cell

solarprofessional.com | S O L A R P R O 25
 Evolution of c-Si PV

Lightly doped front diffusion

• Reduces recombination loss texture plus antireflection coating

n-type high lifetime silicon

• Reduces bulk recombination

p+ n+ p+ n+ p+ n+ Passivating SiO2 layer

• Reduces surface
recombination loss
C ou rte sy SunPo w e r

Backside mirror Backside gridlines

• Reduces backlight absorption • Eliminate shadowing
Localized contacts • High-coverage metal
and causes light trapping • Reduce contact reduces resistance loss
recombination loss

Figure 4 This figure from a SunPower white paper (see Resources) details some of the techniques the company uses to
improve the performance of its high-efficiency IBC cells. The company has broken the 25% efficiency barrier at the cell level
and the 24% barrier at the module level, and is approaching 23% efficiency in commercial mass production.

design as the interdigitated back contact (IBC) architecture publicly traded since 2005, SunPower is notable for having
due to the repeating pattern of positive and negative con- commercialized and improved upon this high-efficiency
tacts on the backside of the cell. Incorporated in 1985 and n-type silicon cell design, shown here in Figure 4. Trina Solar

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and Yingli Solar have both announced IBC cell effi- finger inverted pyramids
ciency records in recent years.
Passivated emitter and rear cell. For a period of
time, it appeared as though rear-contact silicon cells
had an insurmountable performance advantage over
front-contact cell architectures. The latter, after all,
must overcome the fact that metal contacts shade

Co ur te sy Ma r ti n G re e n
about 5% of the front cell surface. In the early 1990s, n oxide
n+
however, the research group at UNSW discovered a p-silicon
way to improve silicon cell efficiency. While experi-
menting with lasers to scribe and passivate the front
cell surface, the Australian team discovered that cell
rear contact oxide
performance improved when they applied higher
concentrations of dopants precisely underneath the
Figure 5 The PERC cell that the University of New South Wales pio-
areas where they would later apply metal contacts.
neered in the late 1980s is now becoming a mainstream technology in
The process of selectively doping cell areas effec-
commercial mass production.
tively created a new solar cell category: selective emit-
ter solar cells. The most common cell architecture in
this category is the passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC) using an AR coating. Its novel advancement was to use lasers
technology, which UNSW successfully demonstrated in 1989. to deposit much higher concentrations of phosphorous and
The team started by combining, refining and building upon boron selectively and accurately under the metal contact
earlier technology advancements that improved the cell’s areas. The team’s 1989 PERC solar cell, shown in Figure 5,
ability to capture light, such as front-surface texturing and demonstrated a conversion efficiency of 22.8%.

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 Evolution of c-Si PV

Front contacts

Surface
passivation
(front)

Surface
passivation

C ou r te sy S ola r Wor ld
(rear)

Rear contacts
(aluminum metallization)
Figure 6 PERC cells are inherently bifacial. Moving from a fully metallized rear electron (on left) to one that is selectively metal-
lized (on right) allows additional energy capture from light reaching the backside of the cell.

The selective doping process improves performance by WHAT LIES AHEAD?

generating an additional electromagnetic pull in the crystal- It is very difficult to improve silicon cell efficiency while
line structure that encourages carriers to travel to the exact reducing costs. Consider that it has taken manufacturers
locations where the circuit can use them. Today, the industry more than 20 years to commercialize some high-efficiency
considers PERC architecture one of the most cost-effective cell architectures. This speaks largely to the difficulty of
ways to produce high-efficiency solar cells. Manufacturers designing affordable, reliable and repeatable manufactur-
with PERC modules in commercial mass production include ing techniques that utilize existing equipment and supply
Aleo, LONGi Solar, SolarWorld and Trina Solar. chains as much as possible. While IBC and PERL are good
Passivated emitter rear locally diffused cell. Not long after technologies for improving cell efficiency, they may not be
documenting the PERC architecture, the UNSW team the most promising options for commercial mass manu-
announced that it had achieved a new world record for a facturing because of the higher costs associated with the
single-junction silicon cell efficiency. The team had improved more-complex production processes. As a result, most man-
on its PERC design by laser-embedding tiny, highly doped ufacturers are looking to improve module output based on
dots on the rear surface of the cell rather than using a con- existing cell technologies, since these efforts require much
tinuous metallic contact. In so doing, it was able to produce lower investments.
a 24% efficient solar cell in 1995 and extend the efficiency Half-cell modules. A general manufacturing trend in the
record for a single-junction c-Si solar cell to 24.5% by 1998— industry, going back several decades, is to slice as many
a record that stood until 2014. silicon wafers as possible from a single ingot, resulting
The UNSW team dubbed its new architecture passivated in increasingly thin wafers. Since cells are susceptible to
emitter rear locally diffused (PERL), since it uses local diffu- breakage in the production process, there is an inherent
sion at the rear-point contact to help collect light-induced tradeoff between saving material cost during production
carriers and reduce contact resistance. While the PERL and incurring material cost associated with broken and
architecture is extremely efficient, this cell technology and scrapped cells. One clever method discovered for reusing
other specialized selective emitter techniques have yet to broken silicon cells is to trim them in half for use in half-
achieve commercialization due to the extremely high costs cell PV modules. Half-cut cells generate half the current of
associated with the manufacturing process. However, the a standard cell, which reduces resistive losses in the inter-
UNSW team made its mark on history, as PERC technology connecting busbars within the module. Reducing internal
has become increasingly popular in both monocrystalline resistance between the cells increases module power out-
and multi-crystalline PV cell production. put. As a result, manufacturers today C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 3 0

28 S O L A R PR O | September/October 2018
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 Evolution of c-Si PV

can increase module power output by 5 W–10 W, potentially efficiency using a perovskite-silicon tandem junction cell
at a lower cost per watt, by intentionally cutting cells in half. technology and believes the technology is capable of break-
Manufacturers commercializing half-cell module designs ing the 29% silicon cell efficiency limit. Since perovskites
include JinkoSolar, LONGi Solar, Mitsubishi, REC Solar and are affordable and can be tuned to low-energy wavelengths,
Trina Solar. these materials could begin to replace the top thin-film
Bifacial modules. The global uptick in PERC module pro- layer in heterojunction cells as they make their way into
duction is likely to lead to a future increase in the produc- commercial production.
tion of bifacial modules. As shown in Figure 6 (p. 28), cell
manufacturers can produce bifacial solar cells by adding Half-cut cells generate half
just one processing step to the standard PERC cell produc-
tion line. Bifacial modules convert light captured on the
backside of the module into electrical power, which could
the current of a standard cell,
increase energy captured in the field by 10%–15% with only a
modest increase in manufacturing and installation costs.
reducing resistive losses inside
(See “Bifacial PV Systems,” SolarPro, March/April 2017.)
Module manufacturers often use a glass-on-glass pack-
the module.
age for bifacial PV cells rather than the usual glass-on-
film package. Bifacial PV systems also require specialty While multi-junction perovskite cells are admittedly com-
racking systems and unique mounting considerations to plex, this is just one example of the exciting work under way
capture the maximum bifacial benefit. This bifacial eco- to develop higher-performing silicon cells. As new cell tech-
system is emerging now. Over the last few years, PV mod- nologies come to market, researchers can optimize PV module
ule glass suppliers have begun offering ultra-thin PV glass encapsulation materials to better match the light-absorption
(<2 mm thick), which reduces the weight of the resulting capabilities of these new cell designs. Each marginal increase
glass-on-glass module. Mounting system manufacturers are in module output and efficiency is important because it ulti-
now offering specialty bifacial mounting systems, including mately serves to reduce the per-watt costs associated with a
single-axis trackers for large-scale PV power plants. Module whole range of project variables, from transportation to land
manufacturers commercializing bifacial PV modules include acquisition to the entire BOS ecosystem.
LG, LONGi, SolarWorld, Sunpreme and Yingli Solar.
Multi-junction cells. Another way to improve cell perfor- gC O N TA C T
mance is to stack multiple p-n junctions to selectively filter
Blair Reynolds / SMA America / Rocklin, CA /
out light passing through the cell based on its energy level.
[email protected] / sma-america.com
For example, the manufacturer can tune a p-n junction near
the top surface of the solar cell to absorb more light in the RESOURCES
blue spectrum and a p-n junction toward the rear of the cell to PV Education Network / pveducation.org
absorb more red-spectrum light. Multi-junction cell designs
have been around for decades and have carved out a niche in Publications
space applications and in concentrating PV. However, manu- Deign, Jason, “New Efficiency Record for Perovskite Solar—Can Oxford
facturers have struggled to find commercial applications for PV Hit 30% by 2020?” Greentech Media, June 28, 2018
this cell technology in conventional terrestrial applications
due to prohibitively high manufacturing costs. Martin, Green, “Developments in Crystalline Silicon Cells,” Solar Cell
This is beginning to change, as it is increasingly com- Manufacturing: Developing Technologies, edited by Gavin Conibeer and
mon to see PV cell designs with additional p-n junctions Arthur Willoughby, John Wiley & Sons, 2014
built by depositing thin-film materials on a c-Si base layer. Osborne, Mark, “ISFH Pushes P-Type Mono Cell to Record 26.1%
These so-called hybrid or heterojunction solar cells can Conversion Efficiency,” PVTech, February 7, 2018
take advantage of many of the benefits of thin film’s light-
absorbing properties at only a fraction of the cost of build- Perlin, John, From Space to Earth: The Story of Solar Electricity, Harvard
ing a pure c-Si multi-junction solar cell. The multi-junction University Press, 2002
cell trend will likely evolve as researchers and manufactur- SunPower, White Paper: SunPower Panels Generate the Highest Financial
ers learn more about perovskite materials, which some have Return for Your Solar Investment, Summer 2008
dubbed a “wonder material.” Greentech Media reports (see
Resources) that Oxford PV claims to have achieved 27.3%

30 S O L A R PR O | September/October 2018
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 Solar Power International
2018 PREVIEW
Vendor and Equipment Highlights
By David Brearley

After a two-year
absence, SPI 2018
returns to Southern
California for a 4-day
residency at the Anaheim
Convention Center,
September 24–27.
Co u r t e s y P l u s S t u d i o s

32 S O L A R PR O | September/October 2018
P
roduced by Solar Energy Trade Shows, Solar Power the trip—this article showcases ten vendors entering SPI with
International (SPI) is a collaboration between the new products, services or announcements, as well as an off-site
Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) and the Solar documentary film screening. Some of these items debuted in
Energy Industries Association (SEIA). Co-located June at Intersolar North America. However, companies gener-
events include Energy Storage International, Hydrogen + ally save their biggest North American market announcements
Fuel Cells North America and the Smart Energy Microgrid for SPI. So book your flight to LAX or John Wayne Airport and
Marketplace. With more than 620 confirmed exhibitors and get those tickets to Disneyland.
over 1,500 companies already represented, the producers hope
to draw 20,000 industry professionals to Anaheim. If attendance
exceeds expectations, as was the case in Las Vegas in 2017, SPI
will have achieved 5 consecutive years of sustained growth. ABB • BOOTH 2604
Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, ABB is a multina-
SPI 2018 attendees can expect to find more technologies
tional corporation with four global business divisions:
and services showcased on the expo
power grids, electrification products, industrial automa-
floor than ever before, with dedicated tion, and robotics and motion. After acquiring Power-One
pavilions or halls for hydrogen fuel in 2013, ABB based its US solar inverter operations in Phoe-
cells, smart energy microgrids, soft- nix, Arizona, where it employed as many as 450 people. In
ware, energy storage, and commercial response to challenging market conditions, however, the
and industrial solutions. The expo floor company laid off its US solar manufacturing employees
will include dedicated areas for start- in 2016, moving these jobs to Latvia and Italy. With this
ups, poster presentations and network- restructuring in its rearview mirror, ABB has rebuilt its
ing. It will also host multiple trainings, North American solar inverter portfolio from the ground
receptions and happy hours. Away from up. In March, the company introduced a new residential
the expo hall, attendees can choose single-phase inverter line that includes five power ratings
between 3.3 kW and 6.0 kW. The line is compatible with
from 100-plus educational sessions
Tigo’s TS4 optimizer platform for rapid-shutdown compli-
and a half dozen special events, includ-
ance. In June, it introduced its newest commercial 3-phase
ing a block party, golf tournament, fun string inverter, the 60 kW TRIO-TM-60. Both inverter
run and solar job fair.
Educational opportun-
ities include pre- and
post-conference work-
shops, as well as con-
current sessions cov-
ering a wide range of
topics such as asset
management and fin-
ance, grid moderniza-
tion and others. With
so much to choose
from, SPI attendees
would be smart to
prioritize their needs
and plan their sched-
ules in advance.
Because there is
never enough time to
take everything in—
and some people will
not be able to make ABB 1,500 Vdc 185 kW string inverter

solarprofessional.com | S O L A R P R O 33
 SPI 2018 Preview

platforms are listed to UL 1741 SA and are Rule 21

compliant. ABB’s best new inverter product may be yet
to come to North America. At Intersolar Europe, the
company took home an innovation award for the PVS-
175-TL, a 1,500 Vdc–rated string inverter for small- or
large-scale ground-mount applications capable of
delivering 185 kW of active power.
ABB / abb.com/solarinverters

ALSOENERGY • BOOTH 1420

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Boulder, Colorado,
AlsoEnergy provides software platforms and technol-
ogy solutions for monitoring and controlling energy pro- Aurora software platform
duction assets. Ranked by Greentech Media as the top
independent solar monitoring vendor in the US commercial platform, Aurora, which streamlines and automates every-
market, AlsoEnergy provides standardized data acquisition day activities. Depending on their subscription plan, solar
systems, custom-designed supervisory control and data acqui- companies can use Aurora as a sales platform only or as an
sition (SCADA) solutions and California Independent System integrated sales and engineering platform. With an address
and an electricity bill, Aurora users can determine a site’s
solar potential, design the optimal photovoltaic system, per-
form financial analysis and create a beautiful sales proposal
in about 10 minutes.  Users with access to the engineering
package can generate single-line diagrams exportable to
ArcGIS, AutoCAD, SketchUp or Visio. This version of the
software also verifies  NEC  compliance and autogenerates
a bill of materials and a detailed cost breakdown. Annual
subscription plans cost $135 or $220 per user per month for
the basic (sales) or premium (sales and engineering) license,
respectively. With 5 years of experience to draw from, Aurora
Solar is redesigning its popular software platform from the
AlsoEnergy PowerTrack monitoring ground up, incorporating features and capabilities designed
to help users sell more solar. In addition to simplifying and
Operator (CAISO)–compliant RIG solutions. After introducing streamlining the platform, the developers are adding new
its PowerTrack platform in 2009, AlsoEnergy expanded its port- tools, such as automated obstruction detection and auto-
folio and customer base by acquiring DECK Monitoring in 2013. stringing, to speed up users’ workflow. They are also scaling
Fast-forward 5 years and AlsoEnergy is once again in mergers up project capacity support capabilities. Aurora users will
and acquisitions mode. In July, AlsoEnergy acquired the assets soon be able to design multi-megawatt PV power systems
of another US solar monitoring pioneer, Draker Corporation, for commercial rooftops or ground-mount applications.
and announced a partnership with skytron energy, a leading Aurora Solar / aurorasolar.com
solar monitoring company in Europe. These moves strengthen
AlsoEnergy’s solutions portfolio and global footprint. At
SPI AlsoEnergy will showcase its monitoring, control and per- CPS AMERICA • BOOTH 504
formance analysis solutions, including PowerCMMS, a com- Part of the Shanghai-based Chint Group, an industrial elec-
puterized maintenance-management module for PowerTrack trical equipment producer, CPS America is a subsidiary of
that centralizes plant operations and analytics. Chint Power Systems, a global inverter supplier for clean
AlsoEnergy / 866.303.5668 / alsoenergy.com energy applications. Founded in Texas, CPS America has
been building its inverter business since 2009. The com-
pany recently earned the number one market share posi-
AURORA SOLAR • BOOTH 138 tion in the US for 3-phase string inverters. To support this
San Francisco–based solar software developer Aurora growing business, CPS America is expanding its US opera-
Solar provides a cloud-based PV system sales and design tions. The company has tripled the size C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 3 6

34 S O L A R PR O | September/October 2018
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PHONE ORDERS 800.707.6585 or 541.512.0201 • Mon–Thu, 8am–4pm Pacific

QUESTIONS [email protected] • solarprofessional.com/faq
 SPI 2018 Preview

battery formation, chemical production and magnetic

silencing for Navy ships. For more than a decade, the
Dynapower Energy Storage Group has supplied utility-
and commercial-scale power conversion equipment for
energy storage applications, such as microgrids, solar-
plus-storage, frequency regulation, demand charge
reduction and backup power. The company offers not
only behind-the-meter and front-of-the-meter energy
storage inverters, but also fully integrated energy stor-
age systems complete with lithium-ion batteries. Most
recently, Dynapower launched a partner program for
traditional central inverter manufacturers that will
allow OEM partners to include Dynapower’s parallel-
able 250 kW and 375 kW dc-to-dc converters in their
CPS America 1,500 Vdc 125 kW string inverter utility-scale offerings.
Dynapower / 877.215.0487 / dynapower.com
of its original location near Dallas, home to the US service
operations, engineering center, analysis laboratory and
field technicians. The expanded location now also sup- ENPHASE ENERGY • MULTIPLE BOOTHS
ports inverter assembly and customer training. The com- Headquartered in Petaluma, California, Enphase Energy pro-
pany also has facilities in California, including a fulfillment vides software-driven home energy solutions for PV genera-
center in Pomona, as well as a training and support cen- tion, energy storage, and web-based monitoring and control.
ter in Pleasanton. The company’s most popular US prod- Way back at SPI 2008, Enphase generated big buzz with the
uct line includes 50 kW and 60 kW introduction of its first-generation micro-
3-phase string inverters that provide inverter platform. Since then the company
reactive power support of 55 kVA and has weathered the ups and downs of life on
66 kVA, respectively. The company the solar coaster. Quickly garnering residen-
recently announced that these prod- tial market leadership, Enphase completed
ucts are compatible with Tigo’s flex- an IPO in 2012 to become a publicly traded
ible module-level power electronics company on NASDAQ. At the time, the com-
for NEC 2017 rapid-shutdown compli- pany accounted for more than 50% of the
ance. To address the needs of large- US residential market and 72% of the global
scale ground-mount applications, CPS microinverter market. Peaking in value in
America offers UL-listed 100 kW and late 2014, the stock price fell throughout
125 kW 1,500 V 3-phase string invert- 2015 and remained low for the better part
ers with a rated output of 600 Vac. of 2 years, pressured by falling prices, inter-
CPS America / 855.584.7168 / national competition and eroding market
chintpowersystems.com share. Rumors of the company’s demise
swirled, as many people wondered publicly
and privately whether NASDAQ would delist
DYNAPOWER • BOOTH 4145 it. In spite of the noise, Enphase continued
Since 1963, Vermont-based Dynapower to improve its microinverter line, develop
has provided power electronics—such new products and expand to new markets.
as rectifiers, frequency converters, cus- Today, guided by a new CEO, the company
tom transformers, dc converters and is in the midst of a remarkable business
energy storage inverters—to Fortune turnaround. Since late 2017, its stock price
500 companies, small enterprises, has trended up, along with investor confi-
research institutions and government dence. In early 2018, it released its seventh-
agencies. The company specializes in generation microinverter. In August, the
designing and building power conver- company completed the acquisition of
sion equipment for challenging applica- Dynapower 250 kW dc-to-dc SunPower’s microinverter business, elimi-
tions, including metal finishing, mining, converter nating one of its competitors while gaining

36 S O L A R PR O | September/October 2018
a potential long-term installation requires only one tool and a minimum of
customer. Enphase parts, while optimizers attach easily via snap-on clips.
will not have its Using self-leveling baseplates, FlatFix is available with
own booth at SPI. both ballast and minimally attached hybrid options
However, distribution and can be deployed in either a traditional south-
and module part- facing direction or a dual-tilt orientation. FlatFix
ners, such as AEE Fusion’s materials and design compensate for thermal
Solar (Booth 3420) effects, reducing potential heat-induced degradation
and LG Electronics of the PV mod-
(Booth 2638), will ules and protect-
Enphase IQ 7+
undoubtedly show- ing the integrity
microinverter
case Enphase’s latest of the roof.
products and inno- Esdec / 800.374.5551 /
vations. esdecusa.com
Enphase Energy / 877.797.4743 / enphase.com

LONGI SOLAR •
ESDEC • BOOTH 378 BOOTH 528
Netherlands-based Esdec is one of the leading rooftop PV Established in 2000 and
mounting companies in Europe, with more than 1.5 GW of sys- headquartered in China,
tems deployed. Esdec is entering the US market with FlatFix, LONGi Solar has expe-
which features an innovative clickable design architecture for rienced rapid growth
commercial flat roofs of different sizes and membrane mate- in recent years and
rials, as well as a 20-year warranty and full UL certification. shows no signs of slow-
A company founded by installers, Esdec designed FlatFix for ing down. The company
installers. The mounting system enables rapid assembly, pro- expanded from 2 GW of
viding commercial installers up to a 40% reduction in installa- monocrystalline silicon
tion time compared to other systems on the market. Installers (mc-Si) wafer capacity
can push-fit the racking components into a locked position at the end of 2014 to LONGi Solar half-cut bifacial
without the use of any tools. The rails click together easily and 15 GW at the close of PERC module
quickly to form an interconnected solid structure. Module 2017 and could reach
28 GW by December 2018. The company’s diz-
zying goal is to reach 45 GW wafer capacity by
2020. With a strong focus on research and devel-
opment, LONGi Solar is pushing the limits not
only in terms of growth, but also, more impor-
tantly, in terms of cell efficiency and module per-
formance. The company’s warranty terms are
among the best in the industry, with a 10-year
equipment warranty and a 30-year, 84.95%
output-power warranty, which assumes less
than 2% linear power degradation in year 1
and a linear power degradation rate of -0.45%
in subsequent years. LONGi Solar holds sev-
eral performance records, including the world’s
highest mono PERC module efficiency (20.41%).
Its technology road map includes bifacial PERC
modules, as well as more efficient bifacial mono
PERC modules with half-cut cells.
LONGi Solar / en.longi-solar.com

Esdec FlatFix Fusion roof mount

solarprofessional.com | S O L A R P R O 37
 SPI 2018 Preview

SOLAR ROOTS MOVIE SCREENING •

ANAHEIM MARRIOTT
The birth of the terrestrial solar industry
was not televised. Instead, a small tribe
of backwoods engineers, counterculture
technophiles and hippie entrepreneurs pio-
neered it, far from the city lights and cen-
ters of political power. These early adopters,
many of whom had a green thumb and an
affinity for the Grateful Dead, co-opted
and democratized cold war–era space race
technology to literally bring power to the
people. Realizing that these venerable PV
pioneers would not be around forever, Jeff
Spies and Jason Vetterli spent 2 years trav- Solar Roots: The Pioneers of PV documentary film
eling the country and interviewing more
than 50 of the men and women who cham-
pioned solar and gave birth to the home-power movement role of solar in space and its early terrestrial deployments
in the early 1980s. The result is the entertaining and educa- in the 1970s. More poignantly, the film celebrates the color-
tional documentary film Solar Roots: The Pioneers of PV. Aided ful trailblazers and intrepid homesteaders who planted and
by solar historian John Perlin, the film breathes life into the nurtured the seed of the modern solar industry, chronicling
chronology of solar electricity, from early scientific discover- their empowering origin story. The filmmakers have posted a
ies in the 1800s and the Bell Solar Battery in the 1950s to the 10-minute extended trailer online and will host an advanced

Energy storage solutions Energy Storage System for C&I applications

SUNSYS Xtend ESS
• UL 9540A certified solution

for Smart Grids • Power Scalability up to 264 kW / 1MWh

• Extendable Installation
• Compact Design
• Customer Oriented Services

Energy measurement and monitoring system

for AC and DC applications
DIRIS Digiware
• Unrivaled Accuracy: class 0.5 in accordance
with ANSI C12.20
• Quick installation with our pre-wired and configured solution
• Measure up to 1650 VDC
• Embedded web server included

Disconnect switches for DC and PV applications

INOSYS LBS
• From 100 to 600 A, up to 1500 VDC
• High switching capacity of 750 VDC per pole
• Manual or tripping functions available

VISIT US AT ESI BOOTH #3166

PUB 1088033usa

Socomec, Inc. · Phone: 617 245 0447 · www.socomec.us

pub_1088033usa_Smart_181x117.indd 1 26/07/18 16:15

38 S O L A R PR O | September/October 2018
screening at the Anaheim Marriott in one of SPI’s con-
ference rooms. This special screening is scheduled for
4:30pm–6:30pm on Wednesday, September 26.
Solar Roots: The Pioneers of PV / solar-roots.com

SOLARBOS • BOOTH 1760

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Livermore,
California, SolarBOS provides a wide variety of electri-
cal balance of system (eBOS) components for the solar
industry, including source-circuit combiners, source-
circuit wire bundles, disconnect enclosures, overmolded
wire harnesses and ac combiners. To provide timely ser-
vice, the company has more than 65,000 square feet of
combined manufacturing space between Livermore and
Grand Rapids, Michigan. As commercial- and utility-
scale project developers’ needs evolve over time based
on changing market conditions or new code require-
ments, SolarBOS responds with products that pro-
vide reliable and cost-effective eBOS solutions. At SPI,
the company will showcase ac combiner and rack
solutions for distributed string inverter clusters SolarBOS 1,500 Vdc disconnect combiner
or central inverter topologies. It will feature a new line

solarprofessional.com | S O L A R P R O 39
 SPI 2018 Preview

Soltec SF7
Bifacial single-
axis tracker

of utility combin-
ers for large-scale
ground-mounted
systems designed
to facilitate quick
installation and hassle-free mounting while maintaining the as a homerun trunk cable, conveniently routed inside the
convenience of a combiner box for operations and mainte- tracker torque tube. This product line includes the SF7
nance. SolarBOS will also display an innovative combiner Bifacial, a single-axis tracker optimized for use with newer
with higher-current (45 A) inputs, which reduces eBOS costs bifacial PERC modules. The SF7 Bifacial tracker design
on sites deployed using three-string rows, a practice com- avoids backside shading by eliminating perpendicular rails
mon on single-axis tracker projects. and intentionally spreading the gap between modules at
SolarBOS / 925.456.7744 / solarbos.com the torque tube location. The product is also fielded in a
manner that increases diffuse irradiance capture on the
backside of bifacial arrays, with double-wide service aisles
SOLTEC • BOOTH 1450 and an elevated height profile. In July, Soltec America inau-
Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Molina de Segura, gurated the Bifacial Tracker Evaluation Center (BiTEC),
Spain, Soltec is a multinational solar tracker manufacturer also located in Livermore, where it will rigorously assess
with facilities in Australia, Asia, Europe, and North and bifacial tracker performance in comparison to other PV
South America, and more than 750 employees worldwide. applications, in partnership with bifacial module manu-
The company established its US operation in 2015 and facturers, independent engineering firms and the National
recently appointed energy industry veteran Bill Overholt as Renewable Energy Laboratory.
general manager of its North American subsidiary. Soltec Soltec / 510.440.9200 / soltec.com
America is headquartered in Livermore, California, which
serves as the base for its US sales, logistics and technical
support. Soltec’s current-generation product line is the SF7 g C O N TAC T
single-axis tracker, designed to provide the highest pos-
David Brearley / SolarPro / Ashland, OR /
sible per-acre yield while withstanding extreme climates.
[email protected] / solarprofessional.com
The tracker integrates a proprietary fused wire harness
that eliminates the need for combiner boxes and serves

40 S O L A R PR O | September/October 2018
 INCREASE pROJECT REVENUES

DC-coupled solar plus storage

Adding energy storage to a new or existing utility-scale
solar installation with a Dynapower DC-DC converter can
increase PV energy production through clipping recapture
and low voltage harvest. Further adding to your bottom
line, DC-coupled solar plus storage has a higher efficiency
than AC-coupled storage and is eligible for valuable tax
incentives for installation owners.

To learn more about how Dynapower’s patent-pending

line of DC-DC converters can increase project revenues
and lower the installation costs of utility-scale solar plus
storage, please visit our website to download the
white paper.

To speak with a sales engineer today about modeling

your project for energy storage, please call

1.877.215.0487.

SAMPLE 20MW PV INSTALLATION

WITHOUT DC-COUPLED STORAGE kWh

275,000
249,548
231,174 231,046
225,000
Clipped PV Production kWh/Month

203,916

183,129
176,789
175,000
160,919

121,861 117,948
125,000

90,625
83,252
73,047
75,000

25,000

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

Inverter Loading Ratio = 1.45

WWW.DYNAPOWER.COM/DC-DC 250kW to 3MW

2018 3-Phase String Inverter Spec Input Data (dc)
Max. Max. Operating Number of MPPT Number of Max. usable Max.
PV power at open-circuit PV start voltage MPP voltage dc input input short-circuit
Manufacturer Model STC (W) voltage voltage range trackers range1 circuits current2 current2
ABB TRIO-20.0-TL-OUTD DNR 1,000 3603 200–950 2 450–800 2x4 2 x 25 2 x 30
ABB TRIO-27.6-TL-OUTD DNR 1,000 3603 200–950 2 520–800 2x4 2 x 30.9 2 x 36
ABB TRIO-50.0-TL-OUTD-US DNR 1,000 3603 250–950 1 520–800 1, 12, 16 100 144
ABB TRIO-60.0-TL-OUTD-US DNR 1,000 3603 360–950 1 570–800 1, 12, 16 108 170
ABB TRIO-TM-60.0-US-480 DNR 1,000 3603 360–950 3 570–800 5x3 3 x 36 3 x 55
CPS America CPS SC14KTL-DO/US-208 19,000 600 300 180–580 2 300–540 2x4 2 x 25 2 x 45
CPS America CPS SC20KTL-DO/US-480 27,000 600 300 260–580 2 300–550 2x4 2 x 35 2 x 45.5
CPS America CPS SCA23KTL-DO/US-480 31,000 1,000 330 240–950 2 480–800 2x4 DNR 2 x 41
CPS America CPS SCA28KTL-DO/US-480 38,000 1,000 330 240–950 2 500–800 2x4 DNR 2 x 48
CPS America CPS SCA36KTL-DO/US-480 54,000 1,000 320 240–950 2 540–800 2x5 DNR 2 x 62.5
CPS America CPS SCA50KTL-DO/US-480 75,000 1,000 330 200–950 3 480–850 3x5 DNR 3 x 68
CPS America CPS SCA60KTL-DO/US-480 90,000 1,000 330 200–950 3 540–850 3x5 DNR 3 x 60
CPS America CPS SCH100KTL-DO/US-600 150,000 1,500 900 860–1,450 1 870–1,300 16 DNR 220
CPS America CPS SCH125KTL-DO/US-600 187,500 1,500 900 860–1,450 1 870–1,300 20 DNR 275
Delta M24U 34,000 1,100 250 200–1,000 2 415–830 2x3 2 x 30 DNR
Delta M28U 39,000 1,100 250 200–1,000 2 485–830 2x3 2 x 30 DNR
Delta M36U 50,000 1,100 250 200–1,000 2 520–830 2x4 2 x 36 DNR
Delta M42U 60,000 1,100 250 200–1,000 2 545–830 2x5 2 x 40 DNR
Delta M60U 89,000 1,100 250 200–1,000 2 520–800 1, 16, 186 2 x 60 2 x 108
Delta M80U 112,000 1,100 250 200–1,000 2 600–800 1, 16, 186 2 x 70 2 x 108
Fronius USA Symo 10.0-3 208/240 13,000 600 200 200–600 2 300–500 6 25/16.57 37.5/24.87
Fronius USA Symo 10.0-3 480 15,500 600 200 200–600 2 300–500 6 25/16.57 37.5/24.87
Fronius USA Symo 12.0-3 208/240 13,000 1,000 200 200–1,000 2 300–800 6 25/16.5 7
37.5/24.87
Fronius USA Symo 12.5-3 480 16,000 1,000 200 200–1,000 2 300–800 6 25/16.5 7
37.5/24.87
Fronius USA Symo 15.0-3 280 19,500 1,000 360 325–1,000 1 325–850 6 50 75
Fronius USA Symo 15.0-3 480 19,500 1,000 200 200–1,000 2 350–800 6 33/257 49.5/37.57
Fronius USA Symo 17.5-3 480 23,000 1,000 200 200–1,000 2 400–800 6 33/257 49.5/37.57
Fronius USA Symo 20.0-3 480 26,000 1,000 200 200–1,000 2 450–800 6 33/25 7
49.5/37.57
Fronius USA Symo 22.7-3 480 9,500 1,000 200 200–1,000 2 500–800 6 33/25 7
49.5/37.57
Fronius USA Symo 24.0-3 480 31,000 1,000 200 200–1,000 2 500–800 6 33/25 7
49.5/37.57
Ginlong Solis Solis-25K-US DNR 1,000 350 200–800 4 DNR 4x2 4 x 18 DNR
Ginlong Solis Solis-30K-US DNR 1,000 350 200–800 4 DNR 4x2 4 x 18 DNR
Ginlong Solis Solis-36K-US DNR 1,000 350 200–800 4 DNR 4x2 4 x 18 DNR
Ginlong Solis Solis-40K-US DNR 1,000 350 200–800 4 DNR 4x2 4 x 18 DNR
Ginlong Solis Solis-50K-US DNR 1,000 200 200–850 4 DNR 4x3 4 x 22 DNR
Ginlong Solis Solis-60K-US-F DNR 1,000 200 200–850 4 DNR 4x4 4 x 28.5 DNR
Ginlong Solis Solis-66K-US-F DNR 1,000 200 200–850 4 DNR 4x4 4 x 28.5 DNR
Growatt USA 10000TL3-US DNR 600 120 80–600 2 250–600 2x3 2 x 21 2 x 32
Growatt USA 12000TL3-US DNR 600 120 80–600 2 250–600 2x3 2 x 25 2 x 32
Growatt USA 18000TL3-US DNR 600 120 80–600 2 250–600 2x5 2 x 38 2 x 50
Growatt USA 20000TL3-US DNR 600 120 80–600 2 250–600 2x5 2 x 42 2 x 50
Growatt USA 33000 TL3-US DNR 1,000 250 200–1,000 2 480–800 2x4 2 x 36 2 x 45
Growatt USA 36000 TL3-US DNR 1,000 250 200–1,000 2 520–800 2x4 2 x 36 2 x 45
Growatt USA 40000 TL3-US DNR 1,000 250 200–1,000 2 570–800 2x4 2 x 36 2 x 45
HiQ Solar TrueString TS208-5k75 DNR 1,000 200 DNR 2 325–525 2 2 x 10 30
HiQ Solar TrueString TS480-8k DNR 1,000 200 DNR 2 425–850 2 2 x 10 30

42 S O L A R PR O | September/October 2018
 Footnote Key

cifications
1
Full-power MPPT voltage range 7
MPPT 1/MPPT 2 14
Module-level MPP tracking
2
Per MPP tracker 8
Active fan-cooled option available 15
Primary unit dimension, add two 21-by-12.5-by-
3
Default, adjustable 250 Vdc–500 Vdc 9
Connector approved as load-break disconnect 10.5-inch secondary units
4
Wiring boxes available in multiple product variants 10
PV Link S2501 subarray optimizer specification 16
Primary unit dimension, add one 21-by-12.5-by-
5
Includes integrated wiring box if applicable 11
Nominal dc input voltage 10.5-inch secondary units
6
Fused string input, terminal block and MC4 12
String-level MPP tracking 17
Total weight, components installed as separate units
connector wiring box options 13
With SMA Connection Unit 1000-US DNR = Does not report

Output Data (ac) Operation Disconnects and Combiners Mechanical Contact

Rated Nominal Rated CEC Ambient Dimensions
power output output efficiency temp. range DC AC Fused Cooling HxWxD Weight
(W) voltage current (%) (ºF) disconnect disconnect combiner method (in.)5 (lb.)5 Website
20,000 480 27 97.5 -22–140 yes4 no yes4 passive 41.7 x 27.6 x 11.5 157 abb.com/solarinverters
27,600 480 36 97.5 -22–140 yes4 no yes4 passive 41.7 x 27.6 x 11.5 168
50,000 480 61 98 -13–140 yes 4
yes 4
option4 active 28.5 x 58.7 x 12.4 209
60,000 480 77 98 -13–140 yes4 yes4 option4 active 28.5 x 58.7 x 12.4 210
60,000 480 77 98 -13–140 yes 4
yes 4
yes4 active 28.5 x 58.7 x 12.4 210
14,000 208 39 96 -13–140 yes yes yes active 41.6 x 21.4 x 8.5 141 chintpowersystems.com
20,000 480 24 97 -13–140 yes yes yes active 41.6 x 21.4 x 8.5 141
23,000 480 27.7 98 -22–140 yes yes yes active 39.4 x 23.6 x 9.1 124
28,000 480 33.7 98 -22–140 yes yes yes active 39.4 x 23.6 x 9.1 124
36,000 480 43.5 98 -22–140 yes yes yes active 39.4 x 23.6 x 9.1 145
50,000 480 60.2 98.5 -22–140 yes yes yes active 39.4 x 23.6 x 10.2 157
60,000 480 72.2 98.5 -22–140 yes yes yes active 39.4 x 23.6 x 10.2 157
100,000 600 106.9 98.5 -22–140 yes yes yes active 24.3 x 45.3 x 9.8 176
125,000 600 127.2 98.5 -22–140 yes yes yes active 24.3 x 45.3 x 9.8 176
24,000 277/480 32.1 98 -13–140 yes yes yes active 32.3 x 24.2 x 11 127 delta-americas.com
28,000 277/480 37.5 98 -13–140 yes yes yes active 32.3 x 24.2 x 11 127
36,000 277/480 48.2 98 -13–140 yes yes yes active 32.3 x 24.2 x 11 129
42,000 277/480 56.2 98 -13–140 yes yes yes active 32.3 x 24.2 x 11 131
60,000 277/480 80 98.5 -13–140 yes yes yes6 active 35.4 x 24.2 x 10.8 181
80,000 277/480 100 98.5 -13–140 yes yes yes6 active 35.4 x 24.2 x 10.8 181
9,995 208/240 27.7/24 96.5 -40–140 yes no no active 28.5 x 20.1 x 8.9 92 fronius-usa.com
11,995 208/240 33.3/28.9 96.5 -40–140 yes no no active 28.5 x 20.1 x 8.9 92
9,995 480 12 96.5 -40–140 yes no no active 28.5 x 20.1 x 8.9 77
12,495 480 15 97 -40–140 yes no no active 28.5 x 20.1 x 8.9 77
15,000 208 41.6 96.5 -40–140 yes no yes active 28.5 x 20.1 x 8.9 78
14,995 480 18 97 -40–140 yes no no active 28.5 x 20.1 x 8.9 96
17,495 480 21 97.5 -40–140 yes no no active 28.5 x 20.1 x 8.9 96
19,995 480 24 97.5 -40–140 yes no yes active 28.5 x 20.1 x 8.9 96
22,727 480 27.3 97.5 -40–140 yes no yes active 28.5 x 20.1 x 8.9 96
23,995 480 28.9 97.5 -40–140 yes no yes active 28.5 x 20.1 x 8.9 96
25,000 480 30.1 98.3 -13–140 yes no no passive 37.2 x 23.4 x 14.4 148 ginlong.com
30,000 480 36.1 98.3 -13–140 yes no no passive 37.2 x 23.4 x 14.4 148
36,000 480 43.3 98.3 -13–140 yes no no passive8 38 x 21.1 x 14.4 177
40,000 480 48.1 98.3 -13–140 yes no no passive8 38 x 21.1 x 14.4 177
50,000 480 60.2 98.4 -13–140 yes no DNR passive8 40.7 x 24.8 x 13.9 165
60,000 480 72.2 98.4 -13–140 yes no DNR active 40.7 x 24.8 x 13.9 172
66,000 480 79.4 98.4 -13–140 yes no DNR active 40.7 x 24.8 x 13.9 172
10,000 480 12 95.5 -13–140 yes no no active 27.7 x 20.9 x 9.7 101 growatt-america.com
12,000 480 14.5 95.5 -13–140 yes no no active 27.7 x 20.9 x 9.7 101
18,000 480 21.5 96 -13–140 yes no no active 29.1 x 25.6 x 9.7 139
20,000 480 24 96 -13–140 yes no no active 29.1 x 25.6 x 9.7 139
33,000 480 44 98.5 -13–140 yes yes yes active 31.1 x 17.3 x 10.8 110
36,000 480 44 98.5 -13–140 yes yes yes active 31.1 x 17.3 x 10.8 110
40,000 480 48 98.5 -13–140 yes yes yes active 31.1 x 17.3 x 10.8 110
5,750 208 16 97 -40–150 yes9 yes9 no passive 18.7 x 13.2 x 3 24 hiqsolar.com
8,000 480 9.6 98 -40–150 yes9 yes9 no passive 18.7 x 13.2 x 3 24

solarprofessional.com | S O L A R P R O 43
 3-Phase String Inverter

2018 3-Phase String Inverter Specifications

Input Data (dc)
Max.
Max. Max. Operating MPPT Number of Max. usable short-
PV power at open-circuit PV start voltage Number of voltage dc input input circuit
Manufacturer Model STC (W) voltage voltage range MPP trackers range1 circuits current2 current2
Huawei SUN2000-25KTL-US DNR 1,000 250 250–950 3 DNR 3x2 3 x 25 3 x 33
Huawei SUN2000-30KTL-US DNR 1,000 250 250–950 3 DNR 3x2 3 x 25 3 x 33
Huawei SUN2000-33KTL-US DNR 1,000 250 200–1,000 4 DNR 4x2 4 x 22 4 x 30
Huawei SUN2000-36KTL-US DNR 1,000 250 200–1,000 4 DNR 4x2 4 x 22 4 x 30
Huawei SUN2000-40KTL-US DNR 1,000 250 200–1,000 4 DNR 4x2 4 x 22 4 x 30
Huawei SUN2000-45KTL-US-HV-D0 DNR 1,500 650 600–1,450 4 DNR 4x2 4 x 22 4 x 30
Huawei SUN2000-100KTL-USH0 DNR 1,500 650 600–1,500 6 800–1,300 6x2 6 x 22 6 x 40
KACO new energy blueplanet 125 TL3 187,500 1,500 975 875–1,450 1 875–1,300 1 150 300
Pika Energy X11402 DNR 42010 6010 38011 varies12 60–360 10 varies12 30 DNR
REFUsol 24K-UL DNR 1,000 200 200–950 1 570–890 1 44 80
REFUsol 48K-UL DNR 1,000 200 200–950 1 580–850 1 84 160
Schneider Electric CL-60A DNR 1,000 620 550–950 1 550–850 14 120 140
Schneider Electric CL-125A DNR 1,500 920 860–1,450 1 860–1,250 1 148 240
SMA America STP 12000TL-US 18,000 1,000 188 150–1,000 2 300–800 4 x 213 2 x 33 2 x 53
SMA America STP 15000TL-US 22,500 1,000 188 150–1,000 2 300–800 4 x 213 2 x 33 2 x 53
SMA America STP 20000TL-US 30,000 1,000 188 150–1,000 2 300–800 4 x 213 2 x 33 2 x 53
SMA America STP 24000TL-US 36,000 1,000 188 150–1,000 2 450–800 4 x 213 2 x 33 2 x 53
SMA America STP 30000TL-US 45,000 1,000 188 150–1,000 2 500–800 4x2 13
2 x 33 2 x 53
SMA America STP CORE1 33-US 50,000 1,000 188 150–1,000 6 330–800 6x2 6 x 20 6 x 30
SMA America STP CORE1 50-US 75,000 1,000 188 150–1,000 6 500–800 6x2 6 x 20 6 x 30
SMA America STP CORE1 62-US 93,750 1,000 188 150–1,000 6 550–800 6x2 6 x 20 6 x 30
SolarEdge Technologies SE9KUS 12,150 500 varies14 40011 varies14 varies 14 2 26.5 45
SolarEdge Technologies SE10KUS 13,500 980 varies14 84011 varies14 varies 14 2 13.5 45
SolarEdge Technologies SE14.4KUS 19,400 600 varies 14
40011
varies 14
varies 14
3 38 45
SolarEdge Technologies SE20KUS 27,000 980 varies14 84011 varies14 varies 14 2 26.5 45
SolarEdge Technologies SE30KUS 40,500 980 varies14 84011 varies14 varies 14 3 39 45
SolarEdge Technologies SE33.3KUS 45,000 980 varies14 84011 varies14 varies 14 3 40 45
SolarEdge Technologies SE43.2KUS 58,200 600 varies14 40011 varies14 varies 14 3 114 135
SolarEdge Technologies SE66.6KUS 90,000 1,000 varies14 85011 varies14 varies 14 3 80 120
SolarEdge Technologies SE100KUS 135,000 1,000 varies 14
85011
varies 14
varies 14
3 120 120
Sungrow USA SG125HV DNR 1,500 920 860–1,450 1 860–1,250 1 148 240
Yaskawa–Solectria Solar PVI 14TL 19,000 600 300 180–580 2 300–540 2x4 2 x 25 2 x 45
Yaskawa–Solectria Solar PVI 20TL 27,000 600 300 260–580 2 300–550 2x4 2 x 35 2 x 45.5
Yaskawa–Solectria Solar PVI 23TL 31,000 1,000 330 240–950 2 480–800 2x4 2 x 25 2 x 41
Yaskawa–Solectria Solar PVI 28TL 38,000 1,000 330 240–950 2 500–800 2x4 2 x 29 2 x 48
Yaskawa–Solectria Solar PVI 36TL 54,000 1,000 330 240–950 2 540–800 2x5 2 x 35 2 x 62.5
Yaskawa–Solectria Solar PVI 50TL 75,000 1,000 330 200–950 3 480–850 3x5 3 x 36 3 x 60
Yaskawa–Solectria Solar PVI 60TL 90,000 1,000 330 200–950 3 540–850 3x5 3 x 38 3 x 60
Yaskawa–Solectria Solar XGI 1000-50/60 75,000 1,000 DNR 350–950 4 580–850 4x4 4 x 22 180
Yaskawa–Solectria Solar XGI 1000-60/60 90,000 1,000 DNR 350–950 4 580–850 4x4 4 x 26.4 180
Yaskawa–Solectria Solar XGI 1000-60/65 90,000 1,000 DNR 350–950 4 600–850 4x4 4 x 26.4 180
Yaskawa–Solectria Solar XGI 1000-65/65 97,600 1,000 DNR 350–950 4 600–850 4x4 4 x 27.7 180

44 S O L A R PR O | September/October 2018
 Footnote Key
1
Full-power MPPT voltage range 7
MPPT 1/MPPT 2 14
Module-level MPP tracking
2
Per MPP tracker 8
Active fan-cooled option available 15
Primary unit dimension, add two 21-by-12.5-by-
3
Default, adjustable 250 Vdc–500 Vdc 9
Connector approved as load-break disconnect 10.5-inch secondary units
4
Wiring boxes available in multiple product variants 10
PV Link S2501 subarray optimizer specification 16
Primary unit dimension, add one 21-by-12.5-by-
5
Includes integrated wiring box if applicable 11
Nominal dc input voltage 10.5-inch secondary units
6
Fused string input, terminal block and MC4 12
String-level MPP tracking 17
Total weight, components installed as separate units
connector wiring box options 13
With SMA Connection Unit 1000-US DNR = Does not report

Output Data (ac) Operation Disconnects and Combiners Mechanical Contact

Rated Nominal Rated CEC Ambient Dimensions

power output output efficiency temp. range DC AC Fused Cooling HxWxD Weight
(W) voltage current (%) (ºF) disconnect disconnect combiner method (in.)5 (lb.)5 Website
25,000 480 33 98 -13–140 yes no no passive 30.3 x 21.7 x 11.1 126 solar.huawei.com
30,000 480 40 98 -13–140 yes no no passive 30.3 x 21.7 x 11.1 126
33,300 480 40.1 98.5 -13–140 yes no no passive 21.7 x 36.6 x 11.1 137
36,000 480 43.4 98.5 -13–140 yes no no passive 21.7 x 36.6 x 11.1 137
40,000 480 48.2 98.5 -13–140 yes no no passive 21.7 x 36.6 x 11.1 137
45,000 600 48 98.5 -13–140 yes no no passive 23.6 x 36.6 x 10.6 141
100,000 800 72.9 98.5 -13–140 yes no no passive 23.6 x 42.3 x 12.2 170
125,000 600 120.3 98.5 -13–140 no no no active 27.6 x 27.6 x 17.7 160 kaco-newenergy.com
11,400 208 32 97.5 -4–122 yes no yes active 24.5 x 19.25 x 8 63 pika-energy.com
24,000 480 29 98 -13–140 yes no no passive 24 x 21 x 11 88 refu-sol.com
48,000 480 59 98 -13–140 yes no no passive 32 x 30 x 12 163
63,400 380 96 98 -13–140 yes yes yes active 38.9 x 25.7 x 9.8 147 schneider-electric.us
125,000 600 120 98.5 -13–140 yes yes no active 26.4 x 35.1 x 11.6 165
12,000 480 14.4 97.5 -13–140 option13 no option13 active 25.6 x 26.2 x 10.4 121 sma-america.com
15,000 480 18 97.5 -13–140 option13 no option13 active 25.6 x 26.2 x 10.4 121
20,000 480 24 97.5 -13–140 option13 no option13 active 25.6 x 26.2 x 10.4 121
24,000 480 29 98 -13–140 option13 no option13 active 25.6 x 26.2 x 10.4 121
30,000 480 36.2 98 -13–140 option 13
no option 13
active 25.6 x 26.2 x 10.4 121
33,300 480 40 97.5 -13–140 yes yes no active 28.8 x 24.4 x 22.4 185
50,000 480 64 98 -13–140 yes yes no active 28.8 x 24.4 x 22.4 185
62,500 480 79.5 98 -13–140 yes yes no active 28.8 x 24.4 x 22.4 185
9,000 208 25 96.5 -40–140 yes yes no active 30.5 x 12.5 x 10.5 80 solaredge.us
10,000 480 12 98 -40–140 yes yes no active 30.5 x 12.5 x 10.5 80
14,400 208 40 97 -40–140 yes yes option active 30.5 x 12.5 x 10.5 106
20,000 480 24 98 -40–140 yes yes no active 30.5 x 12.5 x 10.5 80
30,000 480 36.5 98.5 -40–140 yes yes option active 30.5 x 12.5 x 10.5 106
33,300 480 40 98.5 -40–140 yes yes option active 30.5 x 12.5 x 10.5 106
43,200 208 120 97 -40–140 yes no option active 37 x 12.5 x 10.515 40317
66,600 480 80 98.5 -40–140 yes no option active 37 x 12.5 x 10.516 30417
100,000 480 120 98.5 -40–140 yes no option active 37 x 12.5 x 10.5 15
40317
125,000 600 120 98.5 -13–140 yes yes no active 35.5 x 26.4 x 11.7 167.5 en.sungrowpower.com
14,000 208 39 96 -13–140 yes yes yes active 41.6 x 21.4 x 8.5 141 solectria.com
20,000 480 24 97 -13–140 yes yes yes active 41.6 x 21.4 x 8.5 132
23,000 480 27.7 98 -22–140 yes yes yes active 39.4 x 23.6 x 9.1 104
28,000 480 33.7 98 -22–140 yes yes yes active 39.4 x 23.6 x 9.1 104
36,000 480 43.5 98 -22–140 yes yes yes active 39.4 x 23.6 x 9.1 121
50,000 480 66.2 98.5 -22–140 yes yes yes active 39.4 x 23.6 x 10.2 157
60,000 480 79.4 98.5 -22–140 yes yes yes active 39.4 x 23.6 x 10.2 157
50,000 480 72.2 98 -40–140 yes no yes active 45.8 x 28.3 x 11.6 166
60,000 480 72.2 98 -40–140 yes no yes active 45.8 x 28.3 x 11.6 166
60,000 480 78.2 98 -40–140 yes no yes active 45.8 x 28.3 x 11.6 166
65,000 480 78.2 98 -40–140 yes no yes active 45.8 x 28.3 x 11.6 166

solarprofessional.com | S O L A R P R O 45
 Advertiser Index
Power (kW) and Energy (kWh) Meters for Solar Company Page
AEE Solar 13, 22
Allied Moulded Products 27
Aurora Solar IFC
Continental Control Systems 46
CPS America 17
Dynapower 41
Home Power subscriptions 31
LG 2, 3
LONGi Solar IBC
Magnum Energy 9
OutBack Power 11
Preformed Line Products 26
PV Production Metering • Consumption Metering PV Labels 23
Quick Mount PV 5
Net Metering • Zero Export Metering
RBI Solar 7
Battery Storage Metering Snake Tray 46
Certified • ANSI C12 • PBI, UL, CE Socomec 38
SolarBOS 21
Solar Power International 2018 • Booth 3769 SolarEdge 29
SolarPro subscriptions 35
1-888-928-8663 Solmetric 15
[email protected] Standing Seam Roof Anchor 39
www.ctlsys.com Stiebel Eltron 25
Trojan Battery 1
Yaskawa Solectria Solar BC

Cable Management
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#6347493, #6449912, #6460812, #5953870, #5839702, #6926236, #7168212, #7959019, #8783628, #8985530, #8622679, #9074707. Other Patents Pending.

solar pro sept-oct 1-2 pg ad.indd 1 8/9/2018 3:34:45 PM

46 S O L A R PR O | September/October 2018
 Projects System Profiles

Borrego Solar
Sacramento International Airport
C ou r te sy Bor re go S ola r (2)

Overview
DESIGN: Torsten Christian, develop-
T he 7.9 MW Sacramento International
Airport solar project is the largest
on-airport solar facility in California.
The arrays will provide enough energy
to offset a projected 30% of the airport’s
electricity demand, enough to power
ment design engineer, Borrego Solar,
Commissioned in December 2017, the 1,600 homes annually.
borregosolar.com; Benjamin Walter,
electrical engineer, Borrego Solar; David
installation consists of a 15-acre east The airport took advantage of a PPA
Dutil, structural engineer, Borrego Solar; site on the airport’s Aviation Drive and a mechanism with NRG Energy, which
Tarn Yates, applications engineer, 20-acre north site located near the run- enabled the airport to deploy solar with-
Borrego Solar way. Between the two sites, Borrego out any capital outlay. Under this financial
INSTALLATION: Nick Clemens, project Solar installed more than 23,000 LG solar structure, NRG owns and operates the
manager, Borrego Solar; Darin Flick, modules mounted on NEXTracker self- facility and sells electricity to Sacramento
field operations manager, Borrego Solar powered independent-row trackers. International Airport at a reduced rate.
DATE COMMISSIONED:
December 2017
INSTALLATION TIME FRAME: 245 days

LOCATION: Sacramento, CA, 38.7°N

SOLAR RESOURCE: 5.04 kWh/m2/day

ASHRAE DESIGN TEMPERATURES:

98.6°F 2% average high, 26.6°F
extreme minimum
ARRAY CAPACITY: 7.9 MWdc

ANNUAL AC PRODUCTION:
5,900,000 kWh

solarprofessional.com | S O L A R P R O 47
 Projects

The airport pays for the PPA

through savings from electric-
ity costs. Projected cost savings
from the project are an average
of $850,000 annually throughout
the 25-year PPA term.

C ou r te sy Bo r re g o So l a r ( 2 )
Regulatory requirements
for public airports across the
country are unique and can
pose significant challenges
for solar power plant develop-
ers. To comply with California
Environmental Quality Act
requirements, Borrego con-
ducted an owl survey on the
north site, and it followed the
requirements of the National Equipment Specifications
Environmental Policy Act MODULES: 23,237 LG Electronics
since this is a federal proj- LG340S2W-G4, 340 W STC, +3/-0%,
ect. Additionally, the Federal 9.02 Imp, 37.7 Vmp, 9.54 Isc, 46.4 Voc
Aviation Administration requires INVERTERS: Three SMA
the performance of glare studies SC800CP-US, 800 kW–rated output,
for any type of solar project at 1,000 Vdc maximum input, 570
or in close proximity to an air- Vdc–820 Vdc MPPT range; two SMA
port, as well as updates to these SC2200-US, 2,200 kW–rated output,
1,000 Vdc maximum input, 570
studies throughout the project life cycle if the system required two independent
Vdc–950 Vdc MPPT range
there are any design changes. medium-voltage connections using
ARRAY: 19 modules per source
NEXTracker’s support team pro- three Eaton Cooper Power distribution
circuit (6,460 W, 9.02 Imp, 716.3 Vmp,
vided Borrego Solar with specialized transformers (two on the north site
9.54 Isc, 881.6 Voc), 20 source circuits
design, project engineering and on-site and one on the east site) to step up the
per combiner (129.2 kW, 180.4 Imp,
tracker installation and O&M training. aggregated inverter outputs for medium- 716.3 Vmp, 190.8 Isc, 881.6 Voc),
Asphalt on the 15-acre east site and voltage transmission. 7.9 MWdc array total
irregular soft soil on the 20-acre north “The Sacramento airport installation was a
ARRAY INSTALLATION: NEXTracker
site complicated project development. major success despite complexities associ-
NX Horizon single-axis trackers,
NEXTracker assisted Borrego’s installa- ated with a project of this scope and navi- self-powered independent-row design,
tion team in driving shortened piers on gating the security intricacies of constructing 120° (±60°) tracking range, 180° array
the east site, where 3 inches of asphalt at an airport. Our success was due to com- azimuth
blanketed the area. The project team prehensive planning and implementation of ARRAY SOURCE CIRCUIT
installed 13,281 modules on the north Borrego core principles in regard to design, COMBINERS: 63 SolarBOS
site and 9,956 modules on the east site. installation and logistics. Working through CSK320-20-15-N4, 15 A fuses
The typical design configuration deploys the interconnection process with SMUD was ARRAY RECOMBINERS: Three Solar-
76 modules per independent tracker row. a fantastic experience, due to daily com- BOS BEK-09-400-N3, 300 A breakers
The airport’s electrical infrastructure munication and even a gear inspection via
SYSTEM MONITORING: Locus Energy
is a customer-owned campus electricity video-conference from the Eaton factory. I LGate data acquisition platform
loop, typical for large-load customers was extremely impressed by SMUD’s ability
such as airports, colleges and some cor- to keep to a tight timeline that was neces-
porate campuses. Integrating the solar sary for the PPA owner.”
project’s five SMA central inverters into —Nick Clemens, Borrego Solar

48 S O L A R PR O | September/October 2018
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