While at Solar Power International last month I learned that solar panel manufacturer SANYO North America Corporation has partnered with PV Trackers, manufacturer of solar ground-mounted tracking systems. The companies say the combination provides the world’s most efficient solar PV system for large commercial and utility scale projects.
The added efficiencies allow power plants to reach the lowest cost per MWh in the industry on a ground-mounted system. The high efficiency is achieved by the output of 32 SANYO HIT Power Panels mounted on PV Trackers 7.2DX Dual-Axis Tracking System that follows the sun. I viewed a demonstration of the system at the show.
SANYO says high level efficiency of their panels is due to the combination of single crystalline silicon and amorphous silicon to create a hybrid technology (Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin Layer) providing independently-certified cell conversion efficiencies of 20.2%, module efficiencies of 17.8% in its most recently announced 225-W panels. This high efficiency maximizes the power capacity of the available space, resulting in a cost reduction of the total solar system.
PV Trackers is a ground-mounted system that moves the solar panels so they are always facing the sun. PV Trackers says, when combined with SANYO solar panels, the system is the world’s most efficient and can increase MWh production levels by about 40-50% in comparison to a fixed-rack system.
“We are focused on providing utilities the best opportunities to increase power production from renewable sources like SANYO’s high efficiency panels,” said Charles Hanasaki, president of the Solar & Smart Energy Division. “PV Trackers system, when combined with our panels, will add increased clean energy production by maximizing the energy of the sun for all hours of sunlight during the day.”
The San Benito Smart Park LLC will be installing the first utility scale system in Hollister, CA using 7,488 SANYO Solar Panels with the PV Trackers Dual-Axis Tracking System. Construction will finish in the first quarter of 2012 and interconnect to the grid shortly thereafter. PG&E will be buying the electricity from the owner of the installation.
“We are very pleased about the partnership between PV Trackers and SANYO,” said Bill Taylor, CEO of PV Trackers. “The bundling of our technologies will allow Panasonic/SANYO PV power plants to deliver peak power all day long. This combination will produce the lowest cost MWh while maintaining the highest standards of reliability and efficiency,” .
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