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At SNEC 2018, which was opened in Shanghai on May 28, BIG SUN, a Taiwanese PV racking system supplier, exhibited its iPV Tracker at its booth, attracting the attention of many visitors.
With a dual-axis design, BIG SUN's iPV Tracker enables solar panels to turn at a 360-degree angle and increase grid utilization rate by 30-50% a year, boasting investment returns which are 1.5 to 1.6 times that of fixed-type PV systems.
At the exhibition, BIG SUN highlighted a new concept of "multiple usages at one site" for its solar-tracking system. Summer Luo, BIG SUN chairman, explained that the "multiple usage" aspect of the system can be materialized via the employment of raised frames, which are secured with steel cables like the design of a cable-stayed bridge, enabling land space below to be used for various purposes, such as farming, aquaculture, or tourism. Under the arrangement, PV power can co-exist with ecological environments.
Unlike floating PV power systems, which could deplete oxygen contents of fish ponds and suffocate fish, raised frames enable BIG SUN’s iPV Tracker to generate power while avoiding interference with the operation of the fish ponds below. In addition, the system can help fish ponds materialize smart operation, including automatic feeding, fish catching, temperature increase during winter, and oxygen addition during summer.
Raised frames can boost PV power output by over 50%, which is more than enough for offsetting the 20% extra cost, on top of the invaluable usages of the land space below, according to Luo, who referred it to China's poverty alleviation program.
The raised-frame, “one-site, multiple-usage” BIG SUN solar-tracking system has been well received in many markets worldwide. To expand its application, BIG SUN is licensing the technology and has solicited some licensed customers in China. At SNEC 2018, some visitors expressed interest in the licensing as well.