California-based installer Sunstall launched its new vertical solar system to help farmers harvest the sun twice. Sunzaun is designed for farms as it is ideal for agricultural applications. It combines the ability of agriculture and the production of green electricity in the same area.
(Photo : ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP via Getty Images)
Picture taken at the Villanueva photovoltaic (PV) power plant operated by Italian company Enel Green Power in the desert near Villanueva, a town located in the municipality of Viesca, Coahuila State, Mexico, taken on April 20, 2018. The plant covers an area the size of 40 football fields making it the largest solar plant in the Americas.
Vertical Solar System
Sunstall is a company based in California known as a ground-mount installation contractor. Solar Power World reported that the company launched a new venture called Sunzaun, a vertical solar system designed for agricultural settings.
Consumers may benefit from Sunzaun as it is efficient for land use, produces clean energy, and can save water due to shade created by solar panels. Aside from the mentioned benefits, these vertical solar systems can also be used as city infrastructure as fences for railroads, highways, and residential places.
While traditional solar installations usually use a racking system for solar module security, Sunzaun requires more land than these. It is installed in a portrait orientation between two piles with no racking system involved. This allows adjustments to be made more quickly.
As per Electrek, these are designed to accommodate framed and unframed bifacial vertical solar panels, which makes the wires put in a safe place. Sunzaun is usable in slopes up to 15 degrees, providing up to 0.084 psi wind load. Meanwhile, Sunstall stated that they are still processing the safety standard for PV modules and panels, the UL 2703 certification.
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Launching Sunzaun
Sunzaun was completed in 2022 located in Somerset, California. Despite the owner having a rooftop solar on their property, the vineyard owner became interested in new solar developments and agrivoltaics, which led to a new system for rows of grapevines.
The farm has 43 bifacial modules with a total power of 23 kW, installed vertically, connected to a micro inverter, and operated by two batteries. A solar energy solutions provider in Sacramento, Astec Solar Inc, made the design layout and the electrical design of the site.
According to the case study released by AgriSolar Clearing House, this was initially engineered by a company in Germany, which installations became successful in Europe. This made them decide to bring the design to the United States since the market for agrivoltaic installations (agriculture and solar coexist on the same land) in the US has been growing.
Sunstall Chief Executive Officer Helge Biernath is thrilled, along with the whole company, with this revolutionary offering to the market. Sunzaun will have a significant impact on helping the United States decarbonize.
"It mitigates the problems for modern farming caused by climate change and offers energy supply for electric vehicles right where it's needed. We are confident that Sunzaun will help our customers save money on their energy bills while also reducing their carbon footprint," the CEO stated.
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