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Racking and trackers: quality issues in the factory and design considerations for utility-scale solar installations

Utility-scale solar projects continue to face challenges with energy yield and premature equipment failures. In this pv magazine Webinar, we will discuss common issues during production, what the downstream impact of those issues are, and action that can be taken to prevent these risks.

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CEA Presentation

As large-scale solar expands across the globe, system performance and reliability are more important than ever. Utility-scale solar projects continue to face challenges with energy yield and premature equipment failures. Factors that may lead to these issues are quality and design issues in single-axis tracker system components. Failures and improper design of mounting systems can lead to underperformance, module damage, or worse, even a total loss of the PV plant.

In this pv magazine Webinar, we will discuss with the experts Nicholas Hudson, principal engineer, engineering services, and Jörg Althaus, director, engineering and quality assurance services from CEA, common issues during production, what the downstream impact of those issues are, and action that can be taken to prevent these risks.

Key benefits for participants to attend:

  • Understand the most common issues spotted during foundation and tracker production, based on 10+ GW of racking and tracker QA inspection experience.
  • Learn what the downstream impact of those issues are.
  • Gain insight into actions that can be taken to prevent these risks.
  • Learn how to make sure you have the right tracker and foundation design.
  • Ensure your module specifications match your mounting specifications.
  • Find out how to choose the right components for your tracker and foundation systems.

Questions can be submitted beforehand in the comments window when registering or in the chat during the live webinar. Anne Fischer, senior editor at pv magazine USA, will be the moderator of this webinar.

Registration for this pv magazine webinar is free of charge.

Speakers

Nicholas Hudson P.E. | Principal Engineer, Engineering Services CEA

Nicholas Hudson is a Principal Engineer on Clean Energy Associates’ Engineering Services team in North America, and a registered Professional Engineer. He has over 15 years of consulting engineering experience, with more than a decade in the solar industry. Before joining CEA, Mr. Hudson managed system design and permitting for a range of commercial and utility scale projects at SunPower Systems, NA.

Jörg Althaus | Director, Engineering and Quality Assurance Services, CEA

Jörg Althaus is Director, Engineering and Quality Assurance Services with Clean Energy Associates. Before joining CEA, he held various positions at TÜV Rheinland, including being responsible for the strategy development and achievement for TÜV Rheinland’s global PV Power Plant business. As a technical expert, he was a Project Leader on various standards within the IEC, Technical Committee 82 focusing on PV module test standards.  

Moderators

Anne Fischer | Senior editor, pv magazine USA

Anne Fischer is a senior editor at pv magazine USA. Anne is a seasoned writer, editor, and journalist. Her career has included writing for leading technology publications, with a focus on renewable energy and sustainability.

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