Articles written by Charles W. Thurston

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Markets & Policy
The weekend read: On track for broader horizons The global vertical integration of the PV tracker industry is accelerating, as players seek to build organizations that can provide manufacturing and support in multiple markets simultaneously. These partnerships tend to connect intellectual property assets with global manufacturing capability and construction and engineering teams that have the financial wherewithal to pursue international markets. The trend also is driving product line expansion, as in the case of Nextracker’s offering of energy storage as an integrated part of its tracker design.
Charles W. Thurston
Oct 27, 2018
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“The potential gain from bifacial easily outweighs the risks” An unexpectedly large gathering of international bifacial PV experts convened in Denver, USA in early September, at the 2018 bifiPV Workshop to trade notes on the performance of bifacial PV modules, lauded by some as the most promising advance in solar for a decade. pv magazine was on the spot.
Charles W. Thurston
Oct 09, 2018
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On track for broader horizons The global vertical integration of the PV tracker industry is accelerating, as players seek to build organizations that can provide manufacturing and support in multiple markets simultaneously. These partnerships tend to connect intellectual property assets with global manufacturing capability and construction and engineering teams that have the financial wherewithal to pursue international markets. The trend also is driving product line expansion, as in the case of Nextracker’s offering of energy storage as an integrated part of its tracker design.
Charles W. Thurston
Oct 09, 2018
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Research & Development
The weekend read: A new test for trackers The benefits of deploying bifacial solar panels on single-axis trackers are touted like snake oil these days, with promises of anywhere from 5 to 50% gains in energy output compared with a monofacial panel. Unfortunately, the field data that might delineate the actual energy gain of a bifacial panel on a tracker are hard to acquire, and the data that are available typically describe small-scale tests under tightly defined conditions.
Charles W. Thurston
Sep 08, 2018
5
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A burning issue Cables and connectors: The quality and performance of solar balance of system components in the U.S. market is generally quite high, but there are still low quality, knock-off, or outright counterfeit products available at discounts large enough to attract some shortsighted installers or other buyers in the market.
Charles W. Thurston
Jun 18, 2018
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Soltec tracker
Applications & Installations
The weekend read: On track for quality improvement China continues to grow in importance as a key source of components for solar trackers produced by the world’s leading tracker companies, in part since improvements in Chinese quality control have advanced significantly over the last few years.
Charles W. Thurston
Apr 21, 2018
1
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Two sides to tracking Bifacial trackers: Solar tracker makers are bringing specially designed models to the market in order to embrace the coming wave of bifacial panels. While bifacial panels may capture up to 10% more light than monofacial panels, single-axis trackers typically add 25% to that bifacial gain, resulting in a roughly estimated 12.5% gain from the two technologies combined, compared with fixed installs using monofacial panels.
Charles W. Thurston
Mar 13, 2018
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Applications & Installations
The weekend read: Tracker market is adapting to bifacial module technology Solar tracker makers are bringing specially designed models to the market in order to embrace the coming wave of bifacial panels. While bifacial panels may capture up to 10% more light than monofacial panels, single-axis trackers typically add 25% to that bifacial gain, resulting in a roughly estimated 12.5% gain from the two technologies combined, compared with fixed installs using monofacial panels.
Charles W. Thurston
Feb 17, 2018
23
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Adapt and integrate Mounting and BIPV: Solar mounting systems are being used in new and unusual ways for building-integrated photovoltaic projects, ranging from rooftop to wall and to awning installations. As the market slowly moves from select government buildings, educational campuses and corporate flagships to the mainstream commercial segment, the mounting systems required for BIPV will become more standardized, more readily adaptable, and less expensive, manufacturers say.
Charles W. Thurston
Feb 14, 2018