1. Solar Power Design and Solutions
Alkyra Hutchison-Menzer

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

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

4. 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 ?

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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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)

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

10. 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

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

12. Panel Technologies Thin Film Mono & Poly Crystalline
Framed & Frameless

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

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

15. 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

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

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

18. Ground Mount

19. Tilt Mount

20. Flush Mount / Non-Penetrating

21. Non-Penetrating

22. 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?

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

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

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

26. 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

27. Fleet Management

28. Fleet Management

29. Fleet Management

30. Mixed Orientation/Shading

31. 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.

32. Mixed Orientation/Shading

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

34. 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

35. RFI Solar Commercial
Ph:

36. Questions
Thank You