Renewable colleagues, we inaugurated our expanded bifacial test facility at Nextracker’s Center For Solar Excellence on Earth Day 2019, with help from Sheldon Kimber of Intersect Power, Ann Gaglioti of GroundWork Renewables, and Archie Flores of LONGi Solar. We’d like to also extend a big thank you to Jinko Solar and JA Solar, who were also critical partners in launching this testing center.
This was a great way to celebrate Earth Day – as bifacial and performance-enhancing technologies such as TrueCapture are further accelerating solar’s economic and environmental advantages for power generation. Reporter Charles W. Thurston wrote another fantastic piece covering the event here, rich with information regarding our bifacial program and best practices.
Thurston states, “The test bed includes 20 different bifacial test scenarios, including multiple panel types from Longi, JA Solar, and Jinko. Nextracker is partnering with Groundwork to measure and monitor the test array, using utility-scale sensors and analytics. The goal of the testing is to optimize the configuration of bifacial panels on the company’s NX Horizon trackers for future deployments globally. Factors being tested include the albedo — or ground reflected light, the height of the torque tube, elevations over time, and front and rear energy yield ratios, among others.”
Nextracker is also engaged with DNV GL, a global quality assurance and risk management company, on a research project collecting field data over the course of one year at its outside solar test facility in Davis, California, which will include bifacial and monofacial modules on our Nextracker NX Horizon™ single-axis trackers. The federally funded grant, part of a broader, $53 million funding announcement from the Department of Energy, seeks to accelerate the commercial deployment of bifacial modules. Read more from Solar Industry Magazine here.
You can also join the conversation on my LinkedIn post on the inauguration here. See images from the event here.
Shug
