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AE Releases Inverter Mounting Aid

Advanced Energy Industries Inc. (AE) has released a low-profile accessory used to install AE 3TL string inverters at the edge of a rooftop solar array.

AE says the accessory enables string inverters to be installed in a horizontal (0 degrees) orientation. The company says the feature increases site design flexibility and improves overall system performance, while enabling compliance with new NEC 2014 rapid shutdown requirements.

The mounting flanges are compatible with DURA-BLOK and UNISTRUT hardware. The installation accessory is commercially available for AE 3TL 12 kW, 16 kW, 20 kW and 23 kW models.

Advanced Energy: advanced-energy.com

 

Hanergy Shows Thin-Film For Rooftops

Hanergy Thin Film Power Group Ltd. has unveiled its FLEX-series and PowerFLEX copper indium gallium selenide solar photovoltaic modules intended for rooftop applications.

Hanergy says its FLEX-series and PowerFLEX modules are suitable for rooftops that can only bear limited weight and for installation in high-wind zones. The company says its technology is also suitable for a wide range of off-grid solar power, vehicle and device-charging applications.

Hanergy: hanergy.com

 

Precision Adds GaN-Ready Power Products

Precision Inc. has launched a line of gallium nitride (GaN) low loss concept (LLC) transformers and power factor correction (PFC) inductors for a broad range of applications, including solar, automotive, industrial motor and power supplies.

Precision says it partnered with International Rectifier and Transphorm to develop the power supplies with LLC transformer and PFC inductor technologies designed for optimum performance at high switching frequencies.

The company says its GaN switches offer reduced system volume, weight and size; higher operating temperatures and reduced heat sink requirements; and increased power output - up to 95% peak efficiency. The products also feature high breakdown strength, maximum current and oscillation frequency.

Precision: precision-inc.com

 

Flabeg Offers
New CSP Mirrors

Flabeg FE GmbH has unveiled its new generation of parabolic trough mirrors for concentrating solar power (CSP) applications.

The company says its new mirror is fabricated from strengthened annealed glass, combining higher strength with a superior precision of curvature and solar reflectivity. The focus deviation of the new mirror is lower than 6 mm, which Flabeg says is an improvement of more than 1 mm over its current mirrors. The new mirror also has a solar reflectivity of more than 94.5%.

Flabeg: flabeg-fe.com

 

Natcore Demos
Copper-Based Etching

New Jersey-based Natcore Technology Inc. and Rice University in Houston have demonstrated a copper-based catalyst as an alternative to silver for use in etching photovoltaic energy cells.

According to Andrew Barron, Rice professor and a Natcore co-founder, even though a very small amount of the catalyst is used to make a single solar cell, Natcore says the potential savings are significant in large-scale projects.

The process uses a mix of copper nitrate, phosphorous acid, hydrogen fluoride and water. When applied to a silicon wafer, the phosphorous acid reduces the copper ions to copper nanoparticles. The nanoparticles aid in removing electrons from the silicon wafer’s surface, thereby oxidizing it. The oxidized silicon is dissolved by the hydrogen fluoride, resulting in a process that forges inverted-pyramid-shaped structures into the silicon.

The result of fine-tuning the process is a black silicon layer with features as small as 590 nanometers that reflect less than 1% of light. By comparison, a clean, un-etched silicon wafer reflects nearly 40% of light.

Natcore has produced solar wafers using its “black silicon” process and has engaged the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems to test them.

The research by Barron and Rice graduate student and lead author Yen-Tien Lu appears in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Journal of Materials Chemistry A.

Natcore: natcoresolar.com

 

Sunrun Unveils BrightPath Support Software

Sunrun Inc. has unveiled its BrightPath residential solar management software. The system is intended to enable the company and its partners to support sales, permitting, installation service and other functions related to a photovoltaic project over its lifetime.

Sunrun developed BrightPath in part with a $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative. It will be available to the company’s certified partners this year.

Sunrun says a main component of BrightPath includes a cloud-based automated design tool that can assess hundreds of variables and thousands of solar system designs. The system has access to multiple satellite imaging libraries.

By understanding a homeowner’s personal energy consumption and savings goals and combining that with roof design, sun exposure and the impact of shade through the seasons, BrightPath helps optimize PV systems for specific customers, Sunrun says.

Sunrun: sunrun.com

 

Partnership Creates
Inverter For India

California-based power conversion company Transphorm Inc. has partnered with India-based electronics manufacturer Tata Power Solar to produce a solar inverter for the Indian market.

Under the partnership, Transphorm will supply its gallium nitride (GaN) transistors for the 600 V inverter units, which Tata Power Solar will manufacture locally and market. The first product is scheduled to be released in early 2015.

According to Transphorm, its EZ-GaN transistors, currently used for LED lighting applications, have 50% lower switching and conduction loss than conventional silicon-based power conversion designs.

Tata Power Solar: tatapowersolar.com

 

Navitas Launches
Portable Energy System

Navitas Systems LLC, a provider of energy-enabled system solutions and energy storage products, has introduced an off-grid transportable energy system, the Frontierion.

The Frontierion system is a remote power system with integrated energy storage and power inverter electronics. When connected to a flexible or rigid solar panel, it enables DC power from the solar panels or the integrated energy storage (lead acid or lithium-ion batteries) to be converted to stable and secure 115/220 VAC, 12 VDC and 24 VDC power output.

Each power input and output can be independently switched into or out of the system. The system also maintains a high level of safety by incorporating multiple layers of protection to include short-circuit protection, over-current protection and externally resettable protection. The system enables users to rapidly deploy and re-deploy mobile power systems that require no fuel.

The Frontierion can be configured with different sizes of energy storage modules, ranging from 1.2 kWh to 10 kWh of total capacity. A number of photovoltaic panel options are also available.

Navitas: navitassys.com S