Technologies

Offices, plants and installations

Photovoltaic

Plants with Solar Trackers (Conventional and Thin Film)

Introduction to Technology

Abengoa Solar installs PV plants that have tracking modules. These modules may track on 1 or 2 axes. When 2 axis tracking is used exact tracking of the sun is possible which results in increased performance.

Requirements

Tracking PV plants often utilize conventional or thin film semiconductors since more expensive semiconductor technology is often not economically feasible. For tracking PV plants to be feasible certain requirements must be met:

• Favorable Weather: Economic feasibility and performance feasibility depends on the amount of radiation that falls onto the solar system.
• Topography: A flat surface eases the design and construction of a solar system.
• Grid connectivity: In order to take advantage of the electricity produced by a solar system it must be able to easily connect to the electric grid.

1 tracker axles	2 tracker axles

Land Requirements for 1 MW Plants

The following table shows the total area needed to construct tracking PV installations of 1 MW capacity. Accompanying the area (in acres) are the length and width (in meters).

1 MW	Silicon
Tracker 1 axe	12 acres x=215m y=215m
Tracker 2 axes	12,5 acres x=225 y=225

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