Imagine a set of solar panels that are in a fixed position. Through the day, the sun has risen in the east and gradually moves to the west. However, these solar panels are static, at a fixed angle. Given that solar panels generate the maximum electricity when facing the sun, surely such a static position is not optimal to generate maximum electricity? This is where solar trackers come in. Solar trackers are equipment that continuously align the solar panels optimally towards sunlight so that the panels generate the highest amount of electricity. While single axis solar trackers move the panels from east to west during the day, dual axis solar panels can in addition also orient the panels correctly accounting for seasonal variations.

---

Keywords

Single axis solar tracker

Dual axis solar tracker

Solar tracker innovation

how do solar trackers work

fixed tilt versus solar trackers

designing an optimal solar tracker

solar tracker backtracking

low cost solar tracker

solar tracker algorithm

solar tracker microcontroller

While solar PV power plants are easy to maintain, best of breed practices for operations and maintenance can prevent significant losses of electricity yield. These losses could occur owing to a variety of reasons - partly technical, some owing to natural causes such as storms and floods, and some others from factors such as shading.

---

Keywords

solar power plant maintenance best practices

automation of solar farm maintenance

effective solar PV maintenance

solar power plant maintenance case studies

solar power plant maintenance innovations

predictive maintenance of solar power plants

drones and solar power plant maintenance

robotics and solar power plant maintenance

A 1 MW solar power plant could have up to about 3000 solar panels. While solar panels are proven technologies and need little maintenance, such a large number of panels also imply that even routine monitoring of the solar power plant will need to be automated and driven by technology. This is where a range of solar power plant monitoring solutions enter the picture.

---

Keywords

remote monitoring solar power plant

real time solar power plant monitoring

types of data monitored solar power plant monitoring

solar power plant monitoring best practices

solar module level monitoring

analytics from solar power plant monitoring systems

cloud based solar power plant monitoring systems

inverters and solar power plant monitoring

innovations in solar power plant monitoring

how do solar power plant monitoring systems work?

inverter level solar power plant monitoring

As of early 2019, the most commonly used solar panels worldwide (multicrystalline solar panels) have efficiencies in the range 17-18%. Some variations of these panels (the monocrystalline solar panels) have efficiencies in the range 20-23%. Innovations such as bifacial solar panels could add a bit more to the efficiencies. Even a 1% (absolute) increase in efficiency is significant, as that could mean an additional quarter million units of electricity generated from a 1 MW solar PV power plant over its lifetime of 25 years.

---

Keywords

high efficiency solar cells

high efficiency solar panels

bifacial solar panels

monocrystalline solar panels

solar panels with microinverters

multi junction solar cells

high efficiency thin film solar modules

solar panel efficiency innovation

high efficiency multicrystalline solar panels

what determines solar panel efficiency

A solar PV power plant’s effective yield depends not just on the solar panels alone, but also the inverters which convert the DC electricity from the solar panels to the AC electricity before it is fed to the electricity grid or used on premises. Thus, the efficiency of the inverter is as important as the efficiency of solar panels themselves.

---

Keywords

High efficiency inverter

high efficiency central inverter

high efficiency string inverter

high efficiency microinverter

solar PV inverter innovation for efficiency

what determines solar PV inverter efficiency?

Components of a solar inverter

IGBT solar inverter

MPPT solar inverter

Solar PV power plants generate electricity that is “infirm” because of the variable nature of sunshine. Integrating such an infirm power source to the grid is thus a challenge and a concern that needs to be addressed adequately. As the total proportion of solar power in the grid increases, such integration concerns will take on even higher importance.

---

Keywords

Solar power plant forecasting and scheduling

solar power plant grid integration software

Grid solar integration challenges

Smart grid and solar power plants

Inverter and solar grid integration

Solar power plant backdown

Grid stability and solar grid integration

Grid interconnection standards for solar power

solar grid integration innovation

Batteries and solar grid integration

The traditional solar PV power plants (which are based single p-n junction solar panels) have theoretical limits on the highest efficiency they can assume. Concentrating photovoltaics (CPV) overcome this limit by concentrating the sunlight through the use of lenses on to multi-junction solar cells that use multiple p-n junctions. Such CPV systems have demonstrated efficiencies of over 40% in lab scale, compared to sub-25% efficiencies that are the maximum demonstrated by single junction solar cells.

---

Keywords

Concentrating solar PV innovation

Solar CPV tracker

Optical design for solar CPV

Solar CPV mirror

Solar CPV lenses

High concentration solar PV

Low concentration solar PV

Solar cells for concentrating solar PV

Concentrating solar PV efficiency

Concentrating solar PV case studies

While it appears that solar PV power plants are ideal for hot climates because of the plentiful sunlight, in practice it might not be that simple. Solar panels are less efficient in high temperatures, and as a result special care should be taken for solar PV power plants designed for hot regions.

---

Keywords

Challenges for solar power plants in deserts

Solar panel efficiency variation with temperature

Effective maintenance of solar farms in deserts

Cooling solutions for solar power plants in hot climates

Solar power plants in deserts best practices

Solar inverters for hot climates

Solar power plant cables for hot climates

Solar power plants in deserts case studies

O&M best practices for solar power plants in hot climates

In many regions with cold climates, the extent of sunlight is also relatively lower compared to many tropical regions. In addition, solar power plants in many cold regions can also be affected by snow and ice that can reduce the yield of the solar panels. Thus, special care should be taken during design for both installation and maintenance of solar PV power plants in cold regions.

---

Keywords

solar power plants for cold climates

solar power plants in arctic

Solar power generation under low light

Designing solar power plants for snow

Solar power plants in cold regions best practices

O&M best practices for solar power plants in cold climates

Solar power plants in the Arctic

Challenges for solar power plants in cold climates

optimal inverters for solar power plants in cold climates

Performance of solar power plants in winter

A 10 MW ground mounted solar power plant requires panels to be spread over about 50 acres. That's a lot of land, wouldn't you agree? Now, consider another interesting aspect: Wind farms require significant amounts of vacant area between two wind turbines. And, while the wind turbine blades rotate at altitudes of 50 m or higher, solar panels generate power at almost ground level. So, here's the thing: What if the vacant area between wind turbines is populated by solar panels? You get to recover energy from both wind and sunshine! Such a farm can then generate both solar and wind power, thus significantly increasing yield from that area. And finally, here's the icing on the cake: Wind and solar energy complementary (wind usually blows when there's little sun and vice versa), and thus combining solar and wind energy makes the combined energy output less infirm and more reliable. All these make solar-wind hybrid power plants an exciting area to work in.

---

Keywords

Increased yield from solar wind hybrid power plants

Challenges to solar wind hybrid power plants

Efficient design for solar wind hybrid power plants

Inverter design for solar wind hybrid power plants

Solar wind hybrid power plant case study

Solar wind hybrid power plant metrics

Economics of hybrid solar wind power plants

Power smoothing in solar wind hybrid power plant

Solar wind hybrid power plant innovation

Best locations for solar wind hybrid power plants