IST’s new Arraybottm solar trackers combine hydraulic actuators with patent pending feed-forward motion control systems to produce tracking solutions. The prototype system stands twenty-one feet tall and occupies a small footprint on the128 acre campus of William Jessup University at 333 Sunset Blvd in Rocklin, Califonia.
After months of rigorous testing in the IST research and development center, IST determined the Arraybottm was ready to move outside, under the sun, for its final testing phase. With WJU on board, IST reached out to the City of Rocklin Community Development Department to establish their joint cooperation.
Terry Richardson, assistant city manager of Rocklin, said: ”South Placer and particularly Rocklin are known as a community for alternative energy entrepreneurs to find local talent and local businesses to allow creativity to occur.”
The beta test will measure the ‘follow accuracy’ of the Arraybottm with respect to the position of the sun throughout the solar day, in order to confirm the mathematical formulas to ensure the highest degree of accuracy and precision. A Vision System will assist in these tests.
The Arraybottm encoders will also be examined to demonstrate that the ‘feedforward and feedback’ mechanism is operating and communicating correctly. The encoders allow the tracker to rearrange its position with mathematical precision; pointing the solar panels to capture and transfer the highest level of solar energy to the electrical grid, the company claimed.
Designed to operate in conditions with wind gusts of up to 60mph, tests will prove the hydraulic actuators and at least three points of stabilization give the Arraybottm the ability to recover under high stress situations and continue optimizing electricity production. For the final test, a 1600sqft solar array will be placed on top of the 21 foot high Arraybottm and deliver free solar energy to the electrical grid.
