Industry collaboration drives innovative mounting for PV – How silicone bonding can enhance optimized BoS costs

Case Study: Oerlikon Solar Car Port

THE PROJECT

• Officiallyopenedon17thSeptember2012,theSauberF1Team’sOerlikonSolarCarPortisoneofthelargestofitskindinSwitzerlandandpermitsasustainablecontributionofelectricityproductionforthelocalcommunity

• Thecarportwasinstalledveryquicklyduetooptimizedsystemcombination.Itcoversanareameasuring2,249squaremetersandisconstructedfrom1,573technicallyadvancedphotovoltaicmodules.Inaddition,afactoryroofhasalso beenfittedwiththesesolarmodulestoboostenergysupply

• Theinstallationdelivers155,600kilowatthoursofelectricityproductionperyearwhichisequivalenttotheelectricityneedsof44households

• Thisaestheticallypleasingstructureandthebenefitsitbringsisvisibleatalltimes,duetoalargedisplaypanelwhichshowsinformationonthesystem’scurrentoutputandenergyproducedforthatparticularday

• Dow Corning®PV-8301FastCureSealantwasspecifiedforuseinconjunctionwithaninnovativemodulemountinginterfaceforphotovoltaicmodulesdevelopedincollaborationwithOerlikonSolar

THE CHALLENGE

SauberF1Teamisnotonlyasuccessfulcompetitorontheracingcircuitbutisalsoaninnovatorinthewaytheyfocusonconservationofnaturalresourcesandenvironmentalimpactoftheircompanyheadquartersandmanufacturingfacilities.Itthereforecomesasnosurprisethattheperformancespecificationforanewsolarcarportattheirofficescontainedanumberofstipulations,inlinewiththecompany’sresponsibleapproachtoincorporatingtheuseofrenewableenergycomponentswhereverpossible.

MeetingtheirstrictcriteriainaneconomicallyfeasiblewayinvolvedtheformationofaspecialindustryteamledbySauberF1Team’spartnerOerlikon,whoweretaskedwiththeobjectiveofproposingahighlyefficient,cost-effectivesolarsystemsolutionfortheroofoftheirbrandnewcarport.

THE SOLUTION

Photovoltaicpanelsaretypicallymountedontoabuildingstructureusingclipsorclamps.Whilethissystemprovidessatisfactoryresults,itwasforeseenthatimprovementsinspeed,costofinstallationaswellassafetycouldberealized.Withthisinmind,OerlikonSolar,amanufacturerofproductionequipmentforthinfilmsiliconsolarmodules,developedanewtechnicalsolutionformountingofsolarmodules,the

City / Country Hinwil / Switzerland

Application Silicone pad bonding on thin film solar modules

Product Dow Corning PV-8301 Fast Cure Sealant

Building Owner Sauber Motorsport AG

Solar Manufacturer Oerlikon Solar

Images:AV20044,AV20047,AV20048,AV20049

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Dow CorningisaregisteredtrademarkofDowCorningCorporation. We help you invent the futureisatrademarkofDowCorningCorporation. MMIisaregisteredtrademarkofOerlikonSolar. OptibondisaregisteredtrademarkofSchletterGmbH.

©2012DowCorningCorporation.Allrightsreserved.

AMPM511-12 FormNo.06-1088-01

modulemountinginterface(MMI®)whichusesOptibond®padsfromSchletterGmbH,toreplacemechanicalfixation.However,abondinginterfacewasneededbetweenthemoduleandtheMMIpad.

Recognizedfortheirextensivesiliconeexpertise,the DowCorningSolarSolutionsteambeganworkalongsideOerlikonSolartoresolvethismountingproblem,providingengineeringadvicebasedonfiniteelementcalculations. Thesecollaborativeeffortsresultedinthespecificationofatwo-componentstructuraladhesive,Dow CorningPV-8301FastCureSealant.Thissealantmeetsallthenecessaryadhesivepropertiesandhelpstosimplifytheinstallationthusreducingcostandminimizingtheriskofdamagetotheglass/glassmodules.AswellasmeetingthestringentIECnorms, Dow Corning® PV-8301meetsthemostrelevantconstructionindustryrequirements.Dow CorningPV-8301FastCureSealantalsoexhibitsoutstandinglong-termdurability.

Thissiliconebondingadhesiveenabledthecarportsolarsystem’sframelessdesigntowithstandtherequiredwindandsnowloadconditions.Italsoprotectsthephotovoltaicmodulesfromstresswhichcanhelptoensuretheanticipatedelectricityproductionoverthelifetimeoftheinstallation.Duetotheinnovativeandcost-effectivemethodofmodulefixation,ittookjustsixweekstocompletetheconstructionofthesolarcarport.

“TheOerlikonSolarModuleMountingInterfacesaves23%ofbalanceofsystemscostscomparedtoaconventionalmechanicalfastenedmountingsystemwithclampsandscrews.WeverymuchappreciatedthesupportDowCorningcontributedtorealizethisproject,”commentedPeterTinner,headofsalesandmarketingatOerlikonSolar.

“ToaddressthefundamentalchallengeofthePVindustrytofurtherreducethelevelizedcostofenergy,anindustrywidecollaborationwithatotalsystemapproachisneeded,”statedAxelGiesecke,globalmarketingmanager–solarat DowCorning.“OerlikonSolar’sMMI,basedonbondingtechnology,isanimpressiveexampleofhowatotalsystemapproachcanhelptosignificantlyimprovethecostcompetitivenessofPVelectricity.”

“ThankstotheinnovativeapproachofOerlikonSolarandtheiropenness,wewereabletosupporttheirMMIdevelopmentwiththeDowCorninginnovativebondingtechnologyandourtechnicalexpertise.Thiscollaborationresultedinasmartandcost-effectivesystemsolution,”saidDr.JörgKersten,keyaccountmanageratDowCorning.

DowCorningisproudtocollaboratewiththisprestigious andtrusteddevelopmentteamwho,throughtheircommitment toinnovation,havedemonstratedtheadvancementthatcan beachievedforthemutualbenefitoftheenvironmentand thecommunity.

DOW CORNING® PV-8301 FAST CURE SEALANT

Theproductisatwo-componentsiliconeadhesivewhichisideallysuitedforpadandrailbonding.Byeliminatingtheneedforscrewsorclamps,Dow CorningPV-8301FastCureSealantcanenhanceperformancebyprovidingprotectionfrommoisture,environmentalattack,thermalandmechanicalshock,breakageandvibration.Itisfast-curingandminimizesmodulestressthusreducingtheriskofcomponentbreakageandhasthepotentialtodecreaseinstallationtimeonsite.

LEARN MORE

DowCorninghassalesofficesandmanufacturingsites,aswellasscienceandtechnologylaboratories,aroundtheglobe.Formoreinformation,pleasevisitdowcorning.com/solaror e-mailsolar.solutions@dowcorning.com.