Array Technologies presented the results of a new study into tracker architectures, carried out by TÜV Rheinland this week at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) in Abu Dhabi.
The results of the independent study commissioned by Array Technologies show that the latter’s centralized tracker architecture has a 6.7% advantage over decentralized models, and that centralized architectures also offer advantages in terms of durability and resilience to weather and other environmental risks.
The study, available to download here, compared the two different tracker architectures on a range factors including scheduled & unscheduled maintenance, high wind/structural load performance and individual components.
Overall, TÜV Rheinland found the economics of centralized tracker architecture to be stronger. Lower O&M costs, thanks to fewer components, gave the model a cost advantage of $517,194. The centralized model also performed better in terms of Levelized cost of electricity, based on a 100 MW PV array LCOE was estimated at $0.0275/kWh for the centralized architecture, versus $0.0294/kWh for decentralized.
Presenting the report today at WFES, Array Technologies stated the report is particularly relevant for the MENA region, given the strong winds and extreme heat present there. “It’s crucial that project developers and EPCs begin to look at the importance of O&M costs when it comes to component selection,” said Array Technologies Executive Chairman, Brad Forth, when presenting the report. “The risks inherent to some tracker systems are significant and can have a massive impact on a project’s viability as well as profitability over 20 or 30 years.”
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.