Trinasolar has launched its Shield extreme climate solution, which protects photovoltaic power plants from extreme weather such as hail, strong winds and snow storms. Shield maximizes the protection of PV power plants assets and improves system performance and value for customers.
Trinasolar's Shield extreme climate solution on display at the 15th Clean Energy Expo China in Beijing.
Franck Zhang, head of strategy, product and marketing for Trinasolar, said the Shield extreme climate solution consists of high-strength structural modules and intelligent tracking system. The module's glass is 25% thicker than that of conventional modules and its resistance to energy impact 2.5 times greater. The innovative frame design increases the module's load-bearing capacity, thereby further improving stability and reliability.
Equipped with self-developed and mass-produced TCU and NCU, the smart control system is integrated with a variety of extreme climate protection strategies. Harnessing real-time monitoring data from the smart cloud platform, the system is able to implement intelligent protective measures for PV power plants, thereby ensuring safe and stable operation of the entire system.
In severe hailstorms the Shield solution can withstand 55mm hail at 0° and 75mm at 60°. The short-term severe hail climate forecast automatically issues commands for the tracker to adopt a protective angle.
In strong winds the Shield solution withstands wind pressure up to +8000Pa/-6000Pa in a fixed mounting system installation setting thanks to innovative dual fastening and triple-beam installation design. In a setting in which tracking mounting is used, the smart cloud platform monitors real-time wind speed, automatically adjusting to the stow position when certain wind speeds are detected. A tiered stow strategy assigns different protection angles based on wind speed levels, balancing risk mitigation with maximized power generation. The structure includes an innovative module design that increases mechanical load capacity to +3600/-3000Pa.
In heavy snow the Shield solution withstands 2.2m of uneven snow load in a fixed mounting system installation setting. In a tracking mounting installation setting TrinaTracker smart cloud platform provides real-time monitoring of snow thickness. O&M personnel can initiate snow removal with just one click, effectively mitigating the potential threats of snow load to the modules and mounting systems. This not only improves the efficiency of O&M operations but also prevents power generation losses caused by snow accumulation, thereby ensuring the system's stable operation.
The Shield solution not only effectively safeguards PV assets but also significantly reduces BOS cost and LCOE, delivering greater financial returns on project investment. Thanks to higher efficiency, higher power, higher bifaciality of Trinasolar's i-TOPCon Ultra module and excellent low light performance and high reliability, the PV power plant has a higher comprehensive power generation capability, generating more electricity during early morning, late evening and overcast days in particular. In addition, TrinaTracker SuperTrack intelligent algorithm increases power generation efficiency of PV power plants by integrating AI, big data and self-developed algorithms.
A project in Queensland, Australia, demonstrated that Trinasolar's Shield solution not only effectively handles frequent hailstorms, but also uses its outstanding product performance and intelligent algorithms to create greater customer value, achieving an overall customer value increase by the equivalent of 0.0364 AUD $/W and reduction of LCOE by 2.84%.
Trinasolar's bankability has been recognized by BloombergNEF and PV tech. Its modules and solar mounting systems have passed technical due diligence reviews by DNV and UL. The quality and reliability of its products have been recognized by a variety of third parties, including RETC, Kiwa PVEL, SGS, TÜV Rheinland, TÜV SÜD and CGC. Factory pre-installation and on-site fast installation improve installation efficiency and reduce the manual labor required. More importantly, the unified warranty service window further improves the efficiency and quality of after-sales service.