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SolarWorld, sonnen And PetersenDean Partner On Solar-Plus-Storage Offering

Crystalline-silicon solar manufacturer SolarWorld has teamed up with sonnen and PetersenDean to provide integrated solar-plus-storage solutions to the U.S. market.

sonnen is a European energy storage company that has opened a new headquarters office in Los Angeles, and PetersenDean is a U.S.-based residential roofing company and a strategic partner of SolarWorld. The companies will work together to provide solar-plus-storage products using the sonnenBatterie eco energy-storage system to PetersenDean customers.

“Solar has seen tremendous growth over the past decade in the U.S. market, and all signs point to continued growth,” says Ardes Johnson, SolarWorld’s U.S. vice president of sales and marketing. “Energy storage stands at the beginning stages of adoption, and with companies like sonnen driving technology, we see this market achieving a similar growth trajectory as solar.”

sonnen designs and manufactures its residential and commercial systems to be used in backup or stand-alone applications. The systems provide such features as remote energy management, peak-shaving, full-home backup, smart-home integration and grid-services features.

“We are focused on the growth of clean, reliable and affordable energy for all. Our partnership with SolarWorld to offer an integrated solar-plus-storage product to PetersenDean customers nationwide is an important step in realizing this goal,” says Boris von Bormann, U.S. CEO of sonnen. “Our proven storage technology, developed and manufactured in the U.S., empowers customers to become energy-independent and to manage their self-produced energy.”

Erin Clark, president of PetersenDean’s solar division, says sonnenBatteries fit well within the company’s Solar4America campaign, which taps U.S. products and labor in spreading solar across the nation’s rooftops.

“They’re right in our swim lane,” comments Clark. “We are all resolved to offer complete solar solutions that include and promote the arrival of storage.”

 

JA Solar’s PV Module Lineup Meets IEC62804 Anti-PID Standard

JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. says its entire portfolio of solar PV modules has passed the 96-hour potential induced degradation (PID) resistance test under the conditions of 85˚C and 85% relative humidity (double 85) at -1,000 V of system voltage bias as required to meet the IEC62804 standard.

In addition, as reported earlier, JA Solar’s multi-crystalline Si RIECIUM modules passed an extended 500-hour PID test conducted by TUV SUD with a degradation of less than 2%. The company says this result is a testament to the anti-PID capability of the modules, which are now guaranteed to be able to sustain a doubled (192 hours) IEC62804 standard PID test and are certified by PI-BERLIN and PVEL. The anti-PID performance provides assurance for stable operation of PV installations, especially for those operating in a hot and humid environment over their 25-year life span, according to JA Solar.

“The advantage of JA’s solar products is reflected not only in its core technology that features high performance and cost-effectiveness, but also in its reliability,” says Dr. Wei Shan, chief technology officer of JA Solar. “To be able to pass ‘double 85’ anti-PID certifications for all our PV modules in mass production is a tremendous achievement in terms of JA Solar’s ability to produce high-performance and highly reliable PV modules to meet the ever-growing demands for better solar products from our customers and project partners.”

 

Hawaiian Electric Co. Deploys Gridco Systems Technology

Gridco Systems, a provider of agile grid infrastructure solutions, says that Hawaiian Electric Co. has deployed the Gridco Systems In-Line Power Regulator (IPR) to enable integration of increasing levels of rooftop PV systems.

The Gridco IPRs help maintain reliable power delivery within required voltage limits, supporting Hawaiian Electric’s goal to triple distributed generation on its system by 2030.

“We work in concert with our planning groups within Hawaiian Electric to investigate new technologies and products, such as the Gridco Systems In-Line Power Regulator, to better see and manage what’s happening on the grid,” says Dora Nakafuji, director of renewable energy planning for Hawaiian Electric.

In February 2015, crews installed pole-mounted IPRs on an overhead line identified by Gridco’s modeling team and Hawaiian Electric engineers as having voltage issues due to high rooftop PV penetration.

“With high-penetration PV on our lines, we see high-voltage or back-feed conditions on some circuits,” Nakafuji says. “The Gridco IPR allows us to see what is actually happening right at the pole that serves a cluster of customers. At the same time, it allows us to regulate voltage at that location as needed based on how much power the PV systems are producing and power consumption by customers at the time of day.”

Nakafuji adds that Gridco’s IPR allows the company to get measurements down to the pole closest to the customer load where voltage issues might be occurring, enabling Hawaiian Electric to manage those specific conditions without affecting everybody on the circuit.

“Distributed PV can impact a specific section of an electrical circuit without affecting the entire circuit,” she says. “Traditional controls don’t allow for that fine level of control, so raising or lowering the voltage on a line may help some customers but cause problems for others.”

 

Ideal Power Enters Distribution Deal With WESCO International

Ideal Power Inc., a Texas-based developer of power conversion technologies, has entered into a distribution agreement with Pennsylvania-based WESCO International Inc.

WESCO has added Ideal Power’s Grid Resilient 30 kW and 125 kW power conversion systems to its distribution portfolio in markets including California, New York and Hawaii, where the energy storage opportunity complements its core solar photovoltaic business.

According to Ideal, these grid-resilient power conversion systems enable the integration of solar PV systems and conventional generation with battery storage to deliver stable, flexible and reliable energy whether on or off the grid. WESCO currently has inventory in stock at its warehouses in California.

Ideal Power says the distribution agreement gives the company access to WESCO’s network of 80,000 worldwide customers and 500 branches in North America and overseas.

“This agreement with WESCO will give Ideal Power additional channels to market, increasing our access to WESCO’s loyal base of customers,” comments Dan Brdar, CEO of Ideal Power. “We look forward to working with WESCO as we continue expanding our business.”

 

SunLink Upgrades And Rebrands Solar Ground-Mount System

California-based SunLink Corp. says it has rebranded its large-scale GMS fixed-tilt, ground-mount system for commercial- and utility-scale solar projects and added new enhancements for product flexibility.

In addition to solving project challenges - such as irregular site boundaries, steep or uneven terrain, and last-minute module changes - the system, renamed GeoPro, can now overcome pile driving refusals quickly and withstand snow loads of up to 50 psf without increasing post cross sections, according to the company.

SunLink says enhancements to GeoPro include foundation options: W-section, round post, screw pile, helical, cast-in-place ballast or a hybrid of options; swap-in ballast in the field at a single location when refusals or abnormal soils are encountered; and the optional addition of a third foundation on each table to standardize table sizes across a portfolio.

“The great news is that the total amount of installed solar continues to ramp up around the globe. But with that comes a growing diversity of environments for which our solutions need to be well suited,” explains Kate Trono, the company’s vice president of products. “Developers and installers have been clamoring for electrical and mechanical designs with built-in flexibility that will allow them to standardize across larger portfolios and move more quickly. That’s exactly what we designed GeoPro to do and why we’re continuing to innovate.”