Block ip Trap

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15 May, 2025
Pressures to Point Loads: How Solar Impacts Rooftop Wind Dynamics

Building codes and minimum building standards such as ASCE 7, Eurocode, and the National Building Code of Canada, are used to calculate the maximum forces a building may encounter. These forces result from wind, snow and seismic activity. For wind...

Mark Gies

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15 May, 2025
Hail Formation in Severe Convective Storms

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimates that in 2024 alone, the United States experienced 27 weather- and climate-related billion-dollar disaster events, with losses totaling $182.7 billion. Severe convective storms —...

Denis Weaver

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15 May, 2025
The Rise of Robo-Labor: How robotics are solving the labor crisis in solar energy

As the world transitions to clean energy, one of the biggest challenges facing the solar industry isn’t technology or financing — It’s labor. The demand for skilled workers to install and maintain solar infrastructure far exceeds supply,...

Leo Ma

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15 May, 2025
Thin-Film Solar PV Conquers Outer Space

Extreme weather conditions understandably give pause to many people considering solar photovoltaic (PV) installations across areas and climates of all kinds. But there’s one place with more punishing conditions than you’ll find anywhere else:...

Paul Warley

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15 May, 2025
Leveraging GPS to Overcome Challenges in Solar Site Construction

Difficult terrain presents significant obstacles to maintaining productivity on solar construction sites. Solar farms are rarely built on perfectly level ground; to control costs, many projects aim to minimize site preparation. This creates real...

Kipp Ulferts

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15 May, 2025
Against the Wind

Single axis trackers used for PV solar farms must be reliable in the wind. This becomes more of a challenge if the tracker must also be low cost, involving capex, EPC, and opex (O&M). Wind failures are costly, and thus the comprehensive solution...

Robert Dally

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15 May, 2025
Safeguarding Solar Success: Erosion control strategies for utility-scale projects

Utility-scale solar sites promise clean energy, but their success can depend on tackling an often-overlooked challenge: soil erosion. For one 20 MW solar project in Michigan, the stakes were clear. Excessive rain washed away...

Steve Macshane, CESSWI

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15 May, 2025
Protecting Solar Inverters and Energy Storage Devices from High Heat

Designers of solar inverters and energy storage devices want to maximize efficiency and longevity. To improve efficiency, design innovations and material improvements are required. With solar inverters, this involves reducing energy loss during the...

Cody Schoener, PhD

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15 May, 2025
Off-Grid Solution to the Hyperscalers Power Crunch

Artificial intelligence is creating unprecedented demand for power. Hyperscalers, companies building large AI systems, are expected to need between 30-300 gigawatts (GW) of power by 2030; the equivalent to powering up to 225 million homes. This...

Kyle Baranko, Duncan Campbell, Zeke Hausfather, James McWalter, and Nan Ransohoff

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15 May, 2025
Midwest PV Goes to Extremes

Renewable energy development continues to grow in the Midwest. In Minnesota, 54 percent of 2024 power was from zero-carbon sources; 84 percent of South Dakota’s energy is from

Ameer Abuhamdeh