WORLD’S FIRST THIN FILM SYSTEM WITH TRACKING

Conergy Brings World's First Known Thin-Film Solar Energy Tracking System to California's South San Joaquin Irrigation District; A Watershed Solution: Conergy Employs Former Military Software, Solar Tracker & Thin-Film Combination to Optimize Solar Energy Output On Sunny and Overcast Days
April 6, 2009 (Conergy via PRWeb)

"…Conergy Americas and officials at California's South San Joaquin Irrigation District (SSJID) have installed what is believed to be the world's first single-axis solar tracking system featuring thin-film photovoltaic cells. The 419-kilowatt system went live in late March. It is the second phase of a 1.6 MW solar energy solution that will save the irrigation district nearly $400,000 a year in utility costs, allow it to reap millions of dollars in state cash incentives and stabilize customer costs in the midst of a state-wide water crisis.

"The project -- known as the Robert O. Schulz Solar Farm -- will also provide a unique cost-benefit analysis on how two distinct solar energy solutions -- crystalline panels and thin-film -- perform under a range of climatic conditions. [It will get $6 million in cash incentives from the California Solar Initiative program]…"

The Conergy/SSJID installation. (click to enlarge)

"SSJID is located in Manteca, between San Francisco and Yosemite National Park…[and] provides irrigation water for 55,000 acres in the surrounding area. The Solar Farm will handle nearly all the power needs of the nearby Nick C. DeGroot Water Treatment Plant, which processes 40 million gallons of water per day for 155,000 residents and businesses…

"The trend in enterprise solar emphasizing the economic benefits…California is in the third consecutive year of a drought…In addition to the project's $400,000 annual electric bill savings, the solar energy systems provide the district with a hedge against rising utility costs…[B]oth projects are hooked into the state's electrical grid, which means the district will be able to sell its surplus, peak-time energy (another precious commodity) back to the local utility."

The RayTracker single-axis tracking system. (click to enlarge)

"…Phase 1 features 6,720 Conergy 175-watt crystalline modules mounted on a single axis solar tracking system. Tracking systems can optimize peak-time output by as much as 15% over similarly-sized fixed-mount systems… by incrementally adjusting panel angles to follow the trajectory of the sun. This project optimizes its solar tracking capabilities using software whose origins are based in military tracking technologies. It took a mere four months to install.

"…First Solar thin-film modules were selected for the Phase 2 tracking solution because they perform at a lower cost-per-watt than traditional crystalline…Conergy installed equipment on the inverters that sends power generation information to monitoring and reporting company Fat Spaniel Technologies. This allows Battles and the SSJID team to log onto the Web and gauge system performance…[and] compare the 1 MW, Phase 1 SSJID tracking system with several [local] systems…"