In this pv magazine Webinar, we will welcome five experts to discuss wind directionality and stowing position of single-axis trackers, and how to avoid and mitigate common mistakes to build trust in the solar industry.
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Wind directionality and stowing position: A new nexus for single-axis tracker safety
Single-axis tracking has gained serious traction with a 55% increase in sales in 2019, over 2018. The strong numbers could be achieved on the back of emerging markets opening to large-scale solar deployment and the fact that a growing number of developers are convinced of the advantages in terms of LCOE that single-axis trackers can bring.
Still, one concern is quite persistently associated with single-axis trackers – wind-related failures. Much of the debate around the issue has been focussed on wind strength and stowing position. Wind directionality, however, is yet another very important factor to consider, and one that could be decisive in choosing the right mitigation strategies.
In this pv magazine Webinar, our initiative partner and tracker manufacturer Ideematec will send their CEO, Philipp Klemm, and their head of engineering and product management, Nathalie Kermelk, to discuss the benefits of a 0° stowing approach. Stowing refers to the process in which the module table on a single-axis tracker assumes a safe position during a high wind event. Whether that position is a high or low tilt or even sees the modules go in a fully horizontal position, has informed several debates in the industry, in the past. Ideematec champions a horizontal strategy, suggesting the approach is better equipped to deal with oblique and fast-changing wind attack angles.
Joining Ideematec’s speakers is Thorsten Kray, head of buildings aerodynamics of I.F.I. Aachen. Together they will present the findings of a jointly produced white paper. Only with wind directionality issues properly considered, it is possible to build PV arrays which are reliable investments for several decades.
Ideematec’s CSO Hans Jürgen Sauter will also join us and has invited a speaker from the company’s longterm partner schlaich bergermann partner sonne, Markus Balz, to share some practical insights.
This pv magazine Webinar will also look at how common failures can occur, how they can be avoided, and how the myth of unreliable/fragile solar installations can be shed in the coming decade. Join us to find out!
pv magazine Webinar content
- The benefits of a single-axis tracker
- Wind directionality data from the white paper – short focus on each region
- Analysis of stowing strategies
- Common failures, and mitigations strategies
- Building robust systems to foster trust in the solar industry
- How Ideematec’s latest solution can hold up to the elements
Be part of the conversation!
Questions can be submitted beforehand or during the webinar through a chat window. Marian Willuhn, editor at pv magazine, will be the moderator of this webinar. We look forward to your participation!
Speakers
Dr. Thorsten Kray, Head of Building Aerodynamics, I.F.I. Aachen
Dr. Thorsten Kray led the Institute of Industrial
Aerodynamics Solar Group at I.F.I. Aachen for 8
years and has recently been promoted to Head
of Building Aerodynamics. He has overseen wind
tunnel studies on hundreds of different solar roof
and ground mount systems and has been
involved in solar projects all over the world.
Besides wind tunnel data based ballast layouts
for solar arrays mounted on flat roofs, his key
skills are static and dynamic loads on ground
mount solar fixed tilt and tracking systems.
Nathalie Kermelk, Head of Engineering & Product Management, Ideematec
Nathalie Kermelk is head of engineering and
product management at Ideematec Deutschland
GmbH. With more than 13 years experience in
solar industry, gained through leading solar
manufacturers, such as Solarworld, she is now
responsible for international projects design and
new product development in a leading engineering
position at Ideematec Deutschland GmbH. Her
main skills are the structural integration and
structural improvement of solar tracking
systems with respect to wind static and dynamic stability.
Philipp Klemm, Chief Executive Officer, Ideematec, Inc.
Philipp Klemm is leading the North American expansion as CEO of Ideematec, Inc. With over 15 years in the international Solar PV space Philipp gained experience as a senior energy executive. He led globally active project development- and EPC companies in the American markets since 2008. His key skills are strategic international business development and organizational leadership.
Hans Jürgen Sauter, CSO, Ideematec
Educated as a Mechanical Engineer at Strat. Mgm (St. Gallen), Hans Jürgen Sauter has many years experience in worldwide plant engineering & construction (ABB, BASF, ATOS) at VP level. With almost 10 years experience in the solar business , he is responsible as CEO / CSO for more than 130 PV projects of app 800 MWp total at Ideematec.
Markus Balz, Managing director and main technical responsible person, schlaich bergermann partner sonne gmbh
Leading and deeply involved with structure research of solar tracking systems, techno-economic study of various solar technologies and supervised more than 10GW tracker structure integrity review.
Moderators
Marian Willuhn | Senior editor, pv magazine
Covering news on power electronics, start-ups and inverters, Marian writes for pv magazine’s international, Australian and German news platforms. He also helps edit the German print magazine. Marian previously worked as a PR-advisor for different clients in the renewable energy business.
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