Point Load Power announced the launch of its flagship technology, PV Booster Gen 2, a rooftop tracking system designed to maximize solar production from monofacial and bifacial solar panels, producing up to 70% more energy per panel compared to fixed-tilt rooftop mounting solutions.
This advancement in solar performance means that building owners, occupants and project integrators investing in rooftop solar can install 50% less solar panels than required with fixed-tilt and still achieve the same annual savings, increasing return on investment (ROI) by 40% or more.
PV Booster has been engineered to solve the challenges of weight and wind that have prevented solar tracker deployments on rooftops, until now. This dynamic rooftop tracking solution meets the requirements of UL 3703 and the wind loading requirements of ASCE 7-16, and has been tested and certified by CSA U.S., a Nationally Recognized Test Lab allowing PV Booster to deploy on most flat rooftops across the United States.
Solar project integrators looking for a competitive advantage in the C&I solar market have already ordered thousands of PV Booster units. Option One Solar in California’s Apple Valley has completed its first project using the PV Booster.
“We vetted the PV Booster offering thoroughly, even went so far as to install a showcase system on the roof of our headquarters to validate the performance gains,” said Scott Thomas, president of Option One. “Almost immediately we saw that the performance is so significant that this will rapidly accelerate our growth plans in the C&I space.”
Option One Solar is fully trained to resell, install and service PV Booster in addition to receiving other partner benefits including sales support, supply allocations and volume pricing.
PV Booster Gen 2 trackers are now being delivered to customers through Point Load’s U.S.-based supply chain. This highly-anticipated solution has received accolades year-over-year from industry peers since its invention, garnering Solar Power World’s Top Products of 2017 and 2019 as well as its Editor’s Top Product Picks 2018 and winning the Cleanie’s 2019 Platinum Award for Product of the Year and Startup of the Year at the Solar Power International annual conference in 2019.
News item from Point Load Power
Solarman says
Complexity creates the unreliable system. With solar PV in particular the simplicity of a fixed mounted panel in a 30 years or longer installation creating electricity every day needs some “thought” in how it is applied. Tracking adds complexity and with the cost of solar PV now at from around $1.25/watt to $0.80/watt with tariffs is less of a consideration in overall system costs as it used to be 15 years ago, when solar PV was selling for right at $5.50/watt. At one time it was $1,100 for a 200 watt panel, now it is about $265 for an average 330 watt panel today. At 33% more solar PV generation per panel at 76% cost reduction per panel, complexity over longevity comes down to do I install 20% more panels fixed on the roof or install 20% less panels on the roof using tracking to cut down on the number of panels? Would “tenting” bifacial panels facing East and West fixed, be better over the long run of a multi-decade installation or does an additional mechanical tracking “appliance” make sense? Maybe the installation “overhead” needs to be shifted to a smart ESS. Where solar PV strings are sent to a “relatively” high voltage D.C. buss, like 300 to 400VDC, take this buss and save it in a battery set up for a 400VDC buss and control when power is switched out to service the home’s power needs. With smart energy control algorithms as part of the ESS one might find, during the “duck curve” most of the solar PV generation can be stored in battery, some extra generation can be used to service the home’s electricity needs during the day and at night the energy storage can be switched out again to service the home’s needs while “demand charges” or TOU rates are in effect. Spending money on energy storage technology could well bring more profitable systems operations than spending money on the more complex tracking technologies for each panel.
““We vetted the PV Booster offering thoroughly, even went so far as to install a showcase system on the roof of our headquarters to validate the performance gains,” said Scott Thomas, president of Option One. “Almost immediately we saw that the performance is so significant that this will rapidly accelerate our growth plans in the C&I space.””
“Vetting” isn’t necessarily proving a 30 year operation period with little to no maintenance or repair needed. (IF) or when tandem solar PV cells become available to the public, another “variable” in the equation of “what system components does one select” for the most reliable system over the longest period of use. Regulations are pushing folks to consider some kind of off the roof detached Pergola, detached parking covering of solar PV or ground rack system to get away from onerous “safety” requirements of roof mounted solar PV systems today. I’m seeing “trends” across the U.S. that suggest electric utilities will bring “regulatory” pressure to bear on residential solar PV systems, with calls to “limit” solar PV output to no more than 115% of the home’s needs, FP&L has proposed this as a “target” of limitation to the residential system. My particular utility wouldn’t let me put in a 16kWp solar PV system “because” it can’t be larger than 30% of the power transformer feeding the property. It will be smart ESS systems that will be more “effective” at spreading out solar PV self consumption into night time hours, over the “extra” amount of solar PV generation that can be generated by tracking. My next step is a D.C. buss dedicated to a smart ESS, with smart energy control, to use the captured solar PV generation at night. Just sayin’.