Solar Power Design and Solutions Alkyra Hutchison-Menzer

Overview System Capacity & Energy Yield Performance Electricity Cost Management Grid Supply Augmentation Panel Technologies Mounting Methods Inverter Technologies/Fleet Management Protection & Export Control

Overview System Capacity & Energy Yield Performance Electricity Cost Management Grid Supply Augmentation Panel Technologies Mounting Methods Inverter Technologies/Fleet Management Protection & Export Control

System Capacity & Energy Yield Client Requirement: 100kW or 135 MWh/yr ? Site Area Availability Obstructions (eg roof plant or balustrades etc) Roof suitability (orientation, pitch, structure etc) Shading management (module layout/inverter) Yield Guarantee / PPA ? Uptime Guarantee / Service Response Time ?

Overview System Capacity & Energy Yield Performance Electricity Cost Management Grid Supply Augmentation Panel Technologies Mounting Methods Inverter Technologies/Fleet Management Protection & Export Control

Electricity Cost Management A Power Bill isn’t just about ‘c/kWh’ Maximum Demand Charges Peak Demand Availability Charges Time of Use Tariffs Tiered Tariff Rates Adding Solar PV can reduce, minimise or even remove some or all of these charges

Electricity Cost Management Maximum Demand & Peak Availability Charges Example: Peak Supply Availability Level: 50kVA Average demand during billing month: 10kVA Maximum demand during billing month: 40kVA ~20% surcharge for Maximum Demand Usage Fixed $ fee for Peak Availability

Electricity Cost Management Time of Use Tariffs Off-Peak: ~10-15c/kWh 12am – 6am Shoulder: ~20-25c/kWh 8am-6pm Peak: ~40-55c/kWh 6am-8am, 6pm-12am Tiered Tariff Rates 1st 5 MWh/mo: Average rate Highest rate Next 8 MWh/mo: Higher rate Average rate > 13 MWh/mo: Maximum rate Low rate Add Max Demand / Peak Availability Charges….. 100kW = ~10.5MWh per month (annual average)

Overview System Capacity & Energy Yield Performance Electricity Cost Management Grid Supply Augmentation Panel Technologies Mounting Methods Inverter Technologies/Fleet Management Protection & Export Control

Grid Supply Augmentation Sites with grid supply restrictions can limit the client’s capability to operate or expand Solar PV can be a contributing technology for Grid Augmentation On-site Gas/Diesel Turbines Solar PV and/or Storage Batteries

Overview System Capacity & Energy Yield Performance Electricity Cost Management Grid Supply Augmentation Panel Technologies Mounting Methods Inverter Technologies/Fleet Management Protection & Export Control

Panel Technologies Thin Film Mono & Poly Crystalline Framed & Frameless

Thin Film CIGS (other TF include aSi & CdTe) ~13% module efficiency ~140-150W per module Can yield ~10% more kWh compared to crystalline Lower temperature degradation Better partial shade tolerance Very aesthetic finish

Crystalline Poly / Mono Most established technology / most competitive costs ~15-18% module efficiency ~260/310W (60/72 cell poly) ~270-300W (60 cell mono) Poly: 15-16% Mono: 16-17% High Eff Mono: 17-18%

Frameless/Glass-Glass Framed & Frameless Framed Most Common More robust handling Use ‘any’ framing Standard-to-high wind loading rating Minimum ~10-15° pitch for self-cleaning Frameless/Glass-Glass Specialised Higher packing density Special clamps Standard-to-high wind loading rating Lower pitches may be considered

Overview System Capacity & Energy Yield Performance Electricity Cost Management Grid Supply Augmentation Panel Technologies Mounting Methods Inverter Technologies/Fleet Management Protection & Export Control

Mounting Methods Ground Mount Tilt Mount Flush Mount Non-Penetrating Engineering

Ground Mount

Tilt Mount

Flush Mount / Non-Penetrating

Non-Penetrating

Engineering Most Commercial systems will require custom Engineering Certification. The Structural Engineers will need to know…. Terrain Category Building Height Wind Region Roof Pitch Location on roof (middle/edge) Purlin direction & span Y/N Roof Penetrating? Required Tilt?

Overview System Capacity & Energy Yield Performance Electricity Cost Management Grid Supply Augmentation Panel Technologies Mounting Methods Inverter Technologies/Fleet Management Protection & Export Control

Inverter Technologies String Inverters / DC Optimisers / Microinverters Key Advantages/Disadvantages Fleet Management Tools Mixed Orientation & Shading Examples Simplified Troubleshooting & Fault Finding

Inverter Technologies String Inverters MPPT Shut down Monitoring DC/AC DC Optimisers DC/AC MPPT Shut down Monitoring Microinverters

Inverter Technologies DC Optimisers Mid-range Cost Fewest DC BOS Common AC/DC Components Module-level safety & coms Maximised Yield Microinverters Higher Cost AC BOS Proprietary AC Accessories Module-level safety & coms Maximised Yield Higher Uptime Simple Sizing String Inverters Lowest Cost Normal DC BOS Common AC/DC Components Inverter-level coms

Fleet Management

Fleet Management

Fleet Management

Mixed Orientation/Shading

Mixed Orientation/Shading Eg: Pretend ‘8W’ panel is defective A dozen ‘defective’ panels in a 100kW job (400 panels) = 3% of the array. Minor impact on performance. It can wait till the next scheduled maintenance visit. And the technician knows EXACTLY where to start working. No time wasted trouble-shooting the whole system.

Mixed Orientation/Shading

Overview System Capacity & Energy Yield Performance Electricity Cost Management Grid Supply Augmentation Panel Technologies Mounting Methods Inverter Technologies/Fleet Management Protection & Export Control

Protection & Export Control Lightening protection Electrical Surge Protection Integration to building lightening protection grid Grid protection Usually required for >30kW Power Factor Correction 0.8 lagging to 0.8 leading Limited/Zero Export Zero Export Control & Site Specific Export Limitation

RFI Solar Commercial Email: solar@rfi.com.au Ph: 02 8814 2300

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