SOLON Corp., a crystalline silicon solar manufacturer and a provider of turnkey solar power plants, has unveiled its Global Test Site (GTS) Network.
Consisting of three identical outdoor proving grounds located in Tucson, Ariz.; San Pietro, Italy; and Berlin, Germany, the GTS Network gives SOLON the ability to test and understand regional affects on PV modules and related technologies to optimize module and system design, the company explains.
Regional factors such as temperature, humidity, wind, snow and dust can significantly affect the performance of solar PV modules. At the solar test facilities, SOLON will study various areas of performance on four platforms: fixed-tilt at zero degrees, fixed-tilt at latitude, single-axis tracking and dual-axis tracking.
A custom data acquisition system will be used to measure voltage and current before and after the inverter, as well as cell temperature, ambient temperature, irradiance (direct and diffuse), wind speed and humidity. This information is stored on a central server, which allows SOLON scientists from around the world to access and analyze the performance of the modules at all three facilities.
SOURCE: SOLON Corp.