The Sharp Advantage
Sharp's optimized system design takes full advantage of environmental and other conditions, based on real data and know-how accumulated over 50 years in the solar business.
Generally, ambient temperature can by itself greatly affect the number of solar modules required to produce a given amount of energy at a solar power plant. In hot climates, more modules are required than is indicated in standard specifications, while in cold climates fewer modules are required to obtain the same amount of energy. Apart from temperature, other conditions that can also affect output include the light's intensity and angle of incidence; fluctuations in light volume or quality according to the time of day; and vertical height differences or land gradients. A variety of other conditions and environmental factors also affect the energy output of solar modules.
Besides the efficiency of the modules themselves, several other factors hold the key to maximizing the efficiency of a mega-solar power-generation system. These include the placement locations of junction boxes, inverters, and other related equipment and facilities, as well as the length of the electrical cables used—a factor that influences power loss. The mega-solar power plant in Thailand comprises around 560,000 solar modules and includes:
- 1,980 module junction boxes,
- 20,000 modules connected in parallel, and
- 1,400 km of electrical cable in total.
For example, in the 20,000 locations where modules are connected in parallel, a mere 10 cm increase in the placement gap at each connection would result in 2 km of additional cabling. The electrical resistance of all that extra cabling would lower the system's overall energy output. On the other hand, if the modules were set closer together to reduce the length of cabling, they might throw shadows on one another and lower the energy output per module—again resulting in a lower overall system output.
Sharp applies over 50 years of experience in the solar power business to solve such issues based on real-world data and unsurpassed systems know-how. Sharp's precisely optimized solutions boost overall efficiency while offering high system-wide quality.
A vast amount of data and experience accumulated over 50 years in the solar business help Sharp develop optimized total solutions for solar system design. Such unparalleled know-how is what defines Sharp's mega-solar solutions.
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