May 1, 2025 • 39 mins
Today on the Clean Power Hour, Tim Montague talks with Aaron Gabelnick, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Technology Officer at Array Technologies, about the evolving landscape of solar tracking systems and how they're reducing the cost of renewable energy.
Aaron explains how he transitioned from working in traditional energy to join Array Technologies, drawn by the company's mission of "generating energy with integrity for a sustainable world." He details Array's innovative approach to solar tracking, including their unique passive stow mechanism that allows solar arrays to automatically position themselves safely during high winds while maximizing energy production.
The conversation explores how single-axis trackers have revolutionized utility-scale solar by increasing energy yield up to 25% compared to fixed-tilt systems. Aaron breaks down the "3 L's" (land, labor, and latitude) that determine when trackers make economic sense, and explains why trackers have captured 96% of the utility-scale solar market in the United States.
Tim and Aaron also discuss Array's approach to severe weather resilience, with Aaron announcing Array's new 77-degree hail stow technology designed to protect solar panels during increasingly common extreme hail events. The episode touches on Array's investment in Swap Robotics for automating panel installation, with alpha sites expected to deploy robotic panel placement by Q4 2025.
Despite current political uncertainties affecting renewable incentives, Aaron shares his optimistic long-term outlook for solar, citing how even oil-rich Middle Eastern countries are investing heavily in massive solar projects as evidence that solar's cost advantages are undeniable.
Listen to this episode to gain insights into the technical innovations driving cost reductions in solar energy and how leading manufacturers are addressing critical challenges like severe weather events and installation efficiency.
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LinkedIn: Aaron Gabelnick
Website: Array Technologies
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Aaron Gabelnick (00:00):
I think that's one of the benefits that that
(00:02):
array can speak to across theindustry, is arrays been around
for 30 years. So we have systemsthat have been in the field for
decades. And so we do have, youknow, obviously, much smaller at
the at the at the early stages,and really have grown in scale
over over the past severalyears, but those products
(00:23):
sitting, sitting in the field,have provided us a lot of
information as far as thelongevity and the reliability of
these products in array as aleader in that space, and that's
one of our key valuepropositions that we we bring
forward. Are
intro (00:40):
you speeding the energy transition here at the Clean
Power Hour, our host, TimMontague, bring you the best in
solar, batteries and cleantechnologies every week. Want to
go deeper into decarbonization.
We do too. We're here to helpyou understand and command the
commercial, residential andutility, solar, wind and storage
industries. So let's get to ittogether. We can speed the
(01:01):
energy transition.
Tim Montague (01:06):
Today on the Clean Power Hour, we're going to do a
deep dive on a topic that isnear and dear to many energy
professionals hearts, and thatis bringing down the cost of
renewable energy. And my guesttoday is Aaron Gable Nick. He's
the Chief Strategy Officer andChief Technology Officer for
array technologies, the globaltracker and racking
(01:29):
manufacturer. Welcome to theshow.
Aaron Gabelnick (01:31):
Thanks. Tim, pleasure to be here
Tim Montague (01:34):
before we get into it. Check out all of our content
at cleanpowerhour.com Give us arating and review on Apple or
Spotify. Tell a friend about theshow and reach out to me on
LinkedIn. I love hearing from mylisteners. So Aaron, you have
been at array for about a yearand a half, and you're
relatively new to the solarindustry. So I'd love to hear a
(01:55):
little breakdown of how you gotthere at array and why array?
Aaron Gabelnick (02:03):
Great. Well, I'll start with the sort of the
why array part. So I'm, as youmentioned, I'm Chief Strategy
and Technology Officer forarray, and I honestly think it's
the best job here. I lead thestrategy organization, sort of
working to define Ray's globalstrategy for its existing and
future business. And I'm alsoleading technology and product
organization, which includesproduct management, the
(02:27):
technology department, newproduct development, as well as
application sustainingengineering. So from this
viewpoint, I have theopportunity to help shape the
future direction of array andlead a great group of people in
its development and execution.
So I really, I'm really honoredand pleased to be to be in this
role. And as you mentioned, Tim,I, you know, came to array a
(02:47):
little bit over a year and ahalf ago. I spent most of my
career in, you know, consultingand working for the traditional
energy and industrial companiesin that space. And I think that
that background providesadditional perspective on the
energy landscape in which weoperate, and perspective and how
others in the energy ecosystemthink about sort of
opportunities and growth. Andthere were sort of a couple key
aspects in that were formativein my decision, in my career
(03:18):
transition the first as mycareer was developing in
traditional energy space, right,the importance of sustainability
and the energy transition wasbecoming more and more apparent
and in sort of the consciousnessof the of the traditional energy
industry, and My role in thoseindustries was more on the
(03:41):
strategy and businessdevelopment side. So it's often
at the forefront of seeing whatwas happening and participating
in the latest technologies andinnovation in alternative energy
space, such as renewable fuels,carbon capture, green hydrogen,
green methanol and solar. So Icould see, you know, see that
(04:01):
opportunity growingconsistently. So when the
opportunity to arose to joinarray, I was sort of well
prepped in my in first for manyyears in understanding the
importance of alternativeenergies. And, you know,
specifically with array, thatthe mission, you know, really
called to me so that, you know,the mission is generating energy
(04:24):
with integrity for a sustainableworld. And that resonated very
well with with myself and withmany employees, and I think
pretty much everybody in theindustry that resonates with so
we want to provide energy,employment, advancement to
society, done so with integrityand with a sustainable mindset.
And I don't think anyone candisagree with those with the
(04:48):
with that purpose, and that isvery important to me, and I
think important to many of thearray employees, and I think the
broader, broader industry aswell cool and that. Part of the
decision that I came to join.
Well,
Tim Montague (05:03):
you've joined a great company. Array is very
well known in the utility solarspace, anything you know, say,
five megawatts and up whereyou're using single axis
trackers. If you are an energyprofessional and don't work in
utility space, then you may notbe super familiar with trackers,
(05:23):
so let's just break down what isthe value proposition of using a
single axis tracker versus fixedtilt solar racking.
Aaron Gabelnick (05:33):
So, so the story goes back to our to our
founder, our founding father,Ron Corio, who who built array.
And the story goes, at least soI've been told Ron was working
on enhancing solar arrays andsolar panels themselves, and
realized a little bit over 30years ago that the greatest
(05:56):
impact that he could have onincreasing the efficiency of
solar panels was to have themtrack and follow the sun, and
that's the genesis of a ray. Sowhat we do with the single axis
tracker is follow the sun as itrises in the east and sets in
the west. It's a little bit moremore sophisticated and
(06:17):
complicated than that, right?
There are cloudy days, there arewind events, severe weather
events as well, where we have toprotect the system. But
effectively, you know,essentially, the main purpose of
array and for single axistrackers is to follow the sun as
it rises and sets throughout,throughout the day. And you
know, at various latitudes, youknow, there are different
(06:41):
enhancements, but percentages.
But you know, the around 25% ormore efficiency is gained by
following the, you know, the sunas it traverses over the sky,
than if it were just to sit inthe fixed position facing south
Tim Montague (06:59):
at the end of the day. What trackers do is they
bring down the the lifetime orlong term cost of energy, right?
Because you're you're gettingmore energy per kWh, or per kW
of solar in Illinois, okay, herein the upper Midwest, you
(07:20):
install a tracker, you get 1600plus kWh, kW P out of your array
for fixed tilt, you're lookingat maybe 12 or 1300 so it is a
big Delta, and there is a tradeoff, because You're now
installing a mechanical devicethat moves the panels east and
(07:43):
west right. The panels areostensibly flat to ground, and
then they point east in themorning and West in the
afternoon to maximize the amountof radiation they're gathering.
And we, in some respects, we'redoing a grand experiment Aaron,
because trackers completelyswept the field in a very short
period of time. We went fromusing mostly fixed tilt to now
(08:06):
using 96% I think is the lateststatistic trackers for utility
solar in the United States. Soit, you know, it pretty much
blew fixed tilt out of thewater. The exception being very
far northern climbs as you getinto the very far northern parts
of the US or Canada, theadvantages of a tracker go away,
(08:29):
and you will resort to fixedtilt just because of the angle
of the sun in the sky. But thismechanical device is mechanical,
and it can fail, but it can alsohelp to save your solar array.
So let's talk about this. I'mnot trying to poke a stick in in
(08:50):
a Ray's eye at all. I mean, likewe said, you completely dominate
trackers. Completely dominatethe industry, and array is the
number two global trackermanufacturer, only after next
tracker. So you're doingsomething right, clearly. But
what are the pros and cons? Iguess, as you see it, of having
this mechanical, you know,having to move the thing with
(09:11):
with motors and gears, the gearis very prominent in your
particular solution. And I lovehow you have that, that name
carved out of that center drivegear. But what are the pros and
cons of using trackers?
Aaron Gabelnick (09:28):
Yeah, I think, I think they're mostly pros, but
I am probably biased in that, inthat statement, but right as you
referred to, you know, the useof trackers and sort of its
dominance, at least in the US,you know, I sort of break it
down in what I call the threeL's, you know, land, labor and
latitude. I think you mentionedlatitude. You know, previously,
(09:52):
as you get further and furthernorth in the northern
hemisphere, South and thesouthern hemisphere, you know,
the efficiency of a. Tracker isreduced at that point. You point
the panels most just south, andyou let them sit from a labor
and latitude, or labor and landperspective, right as land costs
(10:12):
become very, very high, or laborcosts become very, very high,
putting in a tracker is issometimes not the best answer,
because with a tracker, you needspace for the trackers to track,
you know, for them to move, andthey can create shadows as they
as the sun traverses the sky. Soyou want to have them spaced out
(10:35):
further further apart. So, youknow, one of the areas where you
would consider fixed tilt iswhere you have a very expensive
piece of land, where you don'thave the space for for a
tracker, you know, another is ifinstallation labor is very, very
high. You know, trackers aremore expensive to to install
(10:58):
depending upon the cost thatcost of labor. But as you
mentioned, like in the US, youknow, the market is speaking
with with 90 plus percent of atleast utility scale solar being,
being with a tracker, and that'sreally just due to the
efficiency, as you previouslymentioned, the the amount of
energy gained with withinvestment is very clear, it's
(11:22):
very economical to have thetracker. Makes a lot of sense,
especially for the utility scaleand very large scale sites that
are oftentimes in areas wherethere is more, less costly land
that's that is available, andtherefore you have the benefit
that comes with the tracker.
Tim Montague (11:43):
What about O and M? Because that's where this
kind of grand experiment ishappening. We just don't know
how well trackers are going tohold up. But how long has array
been making trackers? What aresome of your what are the
historical data telling us? Andin general, what can asset
(12:07):
owners expect out of theirsingle access trackers?
Aaron Gabelnick (12:11):
And I think that's one of the benefits that
array can speak to across theindustry, is arrays been around
for 30 years, so we have systemsthat have been in the field for
decades. And so we do have, youknow, obviously, much smaller at
the at the at the early stages,and really have grown in scale
(12:31):
over over the past severalyears. But those products
sitting, sitting in the field,have provided us a lot of
information as far as thelongevity and the reliability of
these products in array as aleader in that space. And that's
one of our key valuepropositions that we we bring
forward our design, at least forfor the dura track platform,
(12:56):
which is the platform that wesell in the United States, is a
mechanical in nature. There areno batteries, so there's limited
O and M there. There's noscheduled O M that's required
for our system. So it is, it isdesigned to sit in operation for
30 years with limited with noscheduled maintenance and and
(13:19):
that is really one of thebenefits that we have. It's
really a, you know, sort of setit and forget it, type of, type
of system that we have, that wehave developed, you know, that
that comes with, you know, thereare a lot of benefits that come
from that a lower lcue, from anO and M perspective, comes,
comes with that as well, and,and that's, that's how we're so
(13:43):
known in the industry. Andactually, our, the name of our,
of our gold standard product,being dura track, comes from its
durability in the field, whichyou know, to operate it outside
in harsh weather conditions for30 years is not an easy feat.
Tim Montague (14:00):
Let's talk a little bit about your journey
and coming from outside of thesolar PV industry. What is your
experience, both at array and Iguess in general in the solar
space, We're famous for oursolar coaster. We have entered a
(14:20):
period here in 2025 ofrelatively moderate turbulence,
I would say, with a newadministration in Washington
trying to attack some of theincentives. I think the 30 year
outlook is still very good forsolar. We are, you know,
globally, headed towards a grid50% powered by solar PV. Will we
(14:46):
do it by 2030, 2035, 2050, thatis TBD. But we are going to do
that. I think there's noquestion in most people's minds
who are in the know. But whathas your journey been? Like
Aaron, and what is your, Iguess, critical assessment of
our industry,
Aaron Gabelnick (15:05):
sure. Well, I think you described it well,
right? Some short termturbulence for sure or unknowns.
So, you know, it's pretty clearwe don't know exactly where
tariffs and tax credits and andother things are likely to go.
But as you look at things from afrom a long term perspective, I
(15:26):
can't help but you know, sort ofagree with you and and I say
that more from a globalperspective of seeing where,
from an LC perspective, wheresolar is going, and it's long
term trajectory, so it might be,there might be some bumps in the
road, certainly in the nearterm, but the long term outlook
looks, looks fairly, you know,fairly solid. And I sort of
(15:51):
bring to that, you know, beforeI joined array, I was working
for a large national oil companyin the Middle East, and living
in the Middle East, working onsome of their downstream
strategy. And you could eventhere, you could see the mind,
mind shift, mindset shifting.
And right the saying used to beand I was working in Downstream
(16:12):
strategy, sort of it's a matterof time before we realized that
the natural resources above theground are worth more than that
the natural resources below theground. And this is, this is in
an area, in a country that's notshort of cheap energy coming
from traditional fossil fuels.
(16:33):
And if you look at where solaris growing the fastest, and
where the largest, certainlyutility scale solar projects are
being built. It's in the MiddleEast, and a lot of lot of
companies, including array, areare looking towards the Middle
East for for that growth. Sowhether it's a, you know, a 3.7
(16:55):
gigawatt project in greenhydrogen, or huge 15 gigawatt
tenders that are being releasedin Saudi Arabia, there are, this
is, you know, again, a regionwhere they're not short
traditional forms of energy, yetthey're buying in and building
solar. So even in those regions,you know, the future is fairly
(17:19):
clear. So even though theremight be some short term
turbulence in the US, and thingsare settling down now globally,
and you see where things aregoing, and you see where others
are taking, taking solar, and Ithink that that's a good
position to be in
Tim Montague (17:40):
in the pre show, we talked about severe weather,
which is on many people's minds.
You know, whether that's, Imean, some things directly
impact the racking, for example,hail and wind. There are other
forms of severe weather that arealso in the news, like fires,
but that's not something you canreally control or impact
(18:03):
necessarily with your tracker,but hail and wind for sure, you
can improve the resiliency of aproject by doing different
things. What is a raise currentthinking on and I guess,
deployment of technology toimprove the survivability of
severe weather?
Aaron Gabelnick (18:26):
That's a great question. I'll speak about Win,
win first, wind and arraysperspective or technology in
dealing with with wind is uniquein the tracker industry, so many
single access trackers that areout there, not, not, not array,
well, including array for forour European and in South
(18:52):
American platform, usesomething, what's called active
stow. And what that means isthat they have a methodology. In
mind that when they read windspeed and wind duration and
based on a certain algorithm,will put the panels into a safe
mode, a safe, safe stoveposition when there is high
(19:16):
wind. And so there's there's analgorithm based on wind speed
and duration of the gusts, etc,where you do not want the the
system to be not protectedagainst high winds, the rate
dura track position is uniqueand different, different from
that there we actually Use aphysical mechanism to protect
(19:41):
against high wind, and thatphysical mechanism is a as
called a slip clutch. Sobasically the way that it works
is that, especially for a rowthat's on the exterior,
experiences a very high gust ofwind that basically pushes the.
In the row into a safe stoveposition, which is a mechanical
(20:05):
stop position for us at 52degrees, and that basically the
wind will come along and push,push the row into that safe
position that oftentimes blocksthe interior rows from that that
that high wind. But if the windis strong enough, and if the you
know terrain is different, andyou actually get that that high
(20:27):
wind, you will push some of theother rows as well. So
basically, the wind pushes ourour panels into a safe position,
and our tracker into a safeposition from from a high wind
perspective, that allows for allthe other rows to keep on
tracking. They track normally inthe windy condition, and only
(20:51):
the rows that are affected bythe wind are pushed, pushed by
the wind into a safe so staysafe, safe stove position. What
that does, effectively isbecause the other rows are still
tracking. They produce moreelectricity, more energy. And we
have studies, and we've done anumber of studies and third
party studies as well, thatindicate that our safe stove
(21:15):
with with dura track, withpassive stove, can gain up to up
to two 3% additional energy fromfrom that, that methodology, and
that equates to, oftentimes, twothree cents a watt for over the
NPV lifetime of this, of thesolar facility
Tim Montague (21:37):
you lost me there for a sec. Safe stow improves
the output of the array,
Aaron Gabelnick (21:43):
yes, yes, because only the rows that need
to move. Ah, okay, got it withactive stow protocols, because
they want to protect most of therows. And there are different
protocols that are out there,and different different
companies have differentalgorithms and different ways to
stow, but on average, many moreof those rows move to protect
(22:04):
them in a high wind condition.
And for a ray only, the rowsthat need to move move because
the wind is pushing them. Sothat reduces the number of rows
that are sort of in a non idealposition, and then stop tracking
the sun, which in a very windycondition. We're talking, you
know, 120 miles an hour, 50meters a second, plus. Type of
(22:25):
wind conditions can equate to,you know, two or 3% higher
energy production over thelifetime of that system, and
that is of significant benefitto our customers.
Tim Montague (22:39):
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call 855-584-7168, to find outmore. Yeah, I think of two
things, and I'm no, I'm noexpert at this. But you know,
there's just the you've got ayou've got a row of panels
sitting like this, potentially,and wind coming across here,
(23:44):
catching the panels and pullingon the panels themselves, or on
the whole torque tube. But thenthere's also this thing called
galloping that is a phenomenonin in single axis trackers. Can
you talk a little bit about someof the factors that you have to
control for
Aaron Gabelnick (24:03):
absolutely so with torsional galloping is
when, basically when, when asystem is flat, there can become
a resonance in the wind, inwhich case there can be, you
know, I think we've all seenthose, those old videos of of
the bridge in, I think it wasWashington state, right, where
(24:25):
you had, you know, destructionof that well that can occur with
solar systems as well, that areflat, where you get a resonance
with the wind and thatgalloping, which eventually
causes that resonance, causesthese sort of catastrophic
events. Well, that that doesn'thappen with with the array
tracker. Basically the wind willjust push, you know where you
(24:46):
had a bridge that was solid inits in its space flat, that wind
pushes the pushes the panels toa mechanical stop at 52 degrees,
which is a safe position whereyou where you. Will not get that
galloping. And so that issomething that we, you know, as
part of the design in thepassive stow to avoid, avoid
(25:09):
that, that low angle galloping.
Tim Montague (25:13):
And then, what about keeping the modules on the
torque tube? What are theconsiderations there? Because
that's also a very serious pointof stress, is it not?
Aaron Gabelnick (25:27):
Oh, absolutely.
And you know, that's where ourmodule mounts and attachments
are extremely important. And wego through a significant amount
of testing of the design ofthose module mounts to withstand
those wind pressures that canoccur because effectively, you
have a large sale, if you thinkabout it, and so the module
(25:50):
mounting undergoes a significantamount of design and test, both
before we launch a new productAnd with the product in the
field as well, to maintain that,that attachment and to limit
that, that possibility fromhappening.
Tim Montague (26:10):
So artificial intelligence is in the news
every day. Now, to what extentare you leveraging artificial
intelligence in in this, youknow, World of of smart stove
technology.
Aaron Gabelnick (26:25):
So artificial intelligence. What the nice
thing about the passive sto isthat it is, as the name
suggests, it's passive. So wedon't, you know, the system
doesn't need to be smart inorder for it to work. The wind
just has to push it. So that's,you know, in that particular
instance, at at array ingeneral, we are using artificial
intelligence and thinkingthrough both from a from a
(26:48):
business process perspective,also in our engineering
department as well, we'veinstituted, you know, several
pilot programs in artificialintelligence in working through
our our engineering servicerequests, you know, as we have,
as you had mentioned, you know,80 gigawatts of solar tracker
(27:11):
installed across the across theworld. So our customers come up
with a number of engineeringservice requests, a number of
questions. And so we're usingartificial intelligence to help
us in processing those, thoserequests to gain to gain
efficiency. We're also thinkingof using artificial intelligence
and other aspects of our of ourdesign and engineering processes
(27:35):
as well.
Tim Montague (27:37):
Cool. So just a couple other things I think we
should touch on, and I'll letyou take I'll let you take your
pick. I'm a huge fan ofautomation in construction and
array has made an investment ina company called swap robotics,
(27:58):
which entered the space with arobotic mower. And check out
episode 229, from last August,with Tim Lichty, the founder and
CEO of swap. So that's one isautomation, and then two is
domestic content. So I'll letyou pick what is a more
important topic for array,
Aaron Gabelnick (28:19):
sure, I'll speak it. I don't think it's
more important. I'll just, Ithink it's sort of more in my in
more my wheelhouse, the supplychain, elements with domestic
content. I mean that that'scritical for for a lot of
projects, especially in theUnited States. And we've done a
really good job of of having afully domestic content supply
(28:39):
chain, and have for four yearsthat that's one of our passions,
especially in the US and inother areas in which we operate,
as having that local content.
But I will speak morespecifically about swap given,
given the technology anglethat's there, you know, we
invested, it was made public, weinvested in swap robotics last
(29:01):
quarter. And you know, a fewthings really drew us to to swap
as we're thinking aboutautomation as a way to reduce
insulation costs and thereforereduce the LCOE for our
customers. So you know, some ofthe reasons that we we chose to
work with swap, and we'reworking with others as well in
(29:23):
the space, but we really likeswap, and chose to invest in
them. Is, is their experience inthat vegetation management. So
their robots have been out inthe field and working with array
systems and other competitorsystems for for years. They
don't have any safety incidents.
So, so safety is extremelyimportant to swap, and I'm sure
(29:45):
Tim mentioned that in thepodcast. He seems to mention it
everywhere he goes, because itis critically important to to
swap and to and to array,especially in dealing with
automation and robots in thefield. You know, the first.
Incident is going to be a, youknow, very, very well
publicized. So we want to makesure that safe, there's zero
(30:07):
safety incidents. And swap hasbeen phenomenal in doing that.
And so their experience inworking with robots in the
field, working with with solarsystems that already exist, and
then extending that into ainstallation. And automation of
that installation is a is agreat fit for array, great fit
(30:31):
for our customers. So we'reworking with them in our at our
test facilities, and alsoworking at their facilities, in
in Waterloo, Canada, on oninstallation efficiency and
improving installation,especially in the pick and place
of solar panels onto the torquetube, or sort of the main
(30:53):
structural tube that holds thethe solar panels and they're
working on that pick and placeof solar panels onto that and
installation onto that torquetube.
Tim Montague (31:05):
And when do you anticipate, like deployment at
some scale of robotic pickingand placing of solar panels
we're
Aaron Gabelnick (31:17):
working on with some customers at this point,
some alpha sites. We hope tohave that operational in the
second half, last quarter of theyear. So working on Alpha sites,
and once the Alpha sites getproven, then commercialization
can occur from there. Butlooking at alpha sites probably
(31:38):
in the second half or in q4 thisyear?
Tim Montague (31:41):
Cool? Well, I look forward to seeing that come to
life, and would love to talkmore about that on a future
episode. What else should ourlisteners know? We've got a few
minutes left. Aaron, there's,you know, lots of stuff. We
could talk about supply chain,durability, LCOE, but what else
(32:08):
should our listeners know aboutarray technologies that they may
not know
Aaron Gabelnick (32:14):
sure one of we did touch a little bit on on
severe weather, so maybe I'llhit just a minute or two on one
of the new products that we'relaunching, which is our 77
degree hail still tracker,because hail is is one of those
problems becoming more and morefrequent, especially as solar
(32:36):
system solar sites become moreprevalent in The areas,
especially in Texas, and sort ofthe swath up north from that.
And, you know, damage to tosolar utility scale solar
systems on by hail is veryvisible and sort of known in
(32:56):
the, you know, in the general,general news media as well. And
so we're developing a product,and have are releasing a product
that stows the solar panels at77 degrees, which is, you know,
fairly close to vertical, toprotect the panels from damage
from from severe hail. Andwe've, we've developed that,
(33:20):
that product and in the in a waythat that we hope will limit
some of those, you know, thosethose damaging storms that
really can be catastrophic to toto systems in the field, and
that, that's an area we spend alot of time working on. I know
you've had a podcast, I think,previously, with John from VDE
(33:42):
about that, and that's, that'ssomething that we're, we're,
we're working on hard, and wereally want to to push into,
into those areas.
Tim Montague (33:52):
Yeah, for sure, Hale has become a no pun
intended major for sim solarindustry. You know, just with
some, with some big projectfailures, and you know, there's
every indication that hailstorms are going to increase in
size and frequency. So when yousay 77 though, I just want to
(34:16):
make sure I understand this. Isthat, like, if there's a front
coming from from my left? Is it77 facing the front or putting
the back of the array to thatstorm? So to speak? Ideally,
Aaron Gabelnick (34:30):
we'd be to the back, okay, at 77 degrees into
the storm, if that's whathappened. 77 degrees the reason
we chose 77 for a couple ofreasons. One, is sort of a
physical limitation of our ofour system, but then two, at
that degree, at that angle view,it's more of a glancing blow,
(34:52):
even into the into the directionof the storm. So we, we have a
hierarchy of decision makingwhen it comes to hail. So, you
know, the first order is, didthe system stow? Right? So, if
it stowed that, that sort ofthat that helped solve, you
know, 90% of the issues did itstow into the storm, into the
(35:14):
direction of the storm, or awayfrom the direction of the storm,
if you're away from thedirection of the storm, that
solves pretty much, almost mostof the issues, issues at all. I
mean, herd animals figured thisout generations ago. If the
storm is coming, you put yourback to the wind, and that's a
safer position to be in. And thethird order is the angle at
(35:34):
which you stow. So we think thatwe have, you know, from the
first two protocols, we have avery, very solid foundation. The
third having a higher angle issomething that we're releasing
very shortly, and that isideally away from the direction
of the storm. But even if it isin the direction of the storm at
(35:56):
77 degrees, the glow isglancing, especially with the
wind and most panels canwithstand, at least from a
theoretical perspective, youknow, even a four inch size hail
ball at that at that angle. Wow.
Tim Montague (36:14):
Yeah. Check out Episode 238, with John previtali
from VD Americas. That was fromOctober last year where we talk
a lot about hail and solar. Iwant to thank Aaron for coming
on the show today. Aarongablenick With array
(36:34):
technologies, check out all ofour content at
cleanpowerhour.com Please giveus a rating and a review. Reach
out to me on LinkedIn and followus on YouTube. Aaron, how can
our listeners find you?
Aaron Gabelnick (36:48):
Well on our website, arraytechinc.com, I am,
I am there. You can always reachout to me. I'm I'm always
available. My contactinformation is there and happy
to work with with any of ouranyone who's interested, and
also our our customers. We'revery customer centric, working
(37:08):
with our customers on all thethings that I mentioned, you
know, previously, especially,you know, working with alpha
sites, and working on our hailproducts, etc, and our new
generation of module mounts aswell. So happy to talk to
customers, if I haven't already,and with with others as well.
Tim Montague (37:28):
Awesome. Well, I want to thank Aaron Gable, Nick
CTO, and Chief Strategy Officerfor array technologies, for
coming on the show. I'm TimMontague. Let's grow solar and
storage. Take care. The CleanPower Hour is brought to you by
CPS America, maker of NorthAmerica's number one three phase
string inverter with over eightgigawatts shipped in the US. The
(37:51):
CPS product lineup includesstring inverters ranging from 25
kW to 350 kW. Their flagshipinverter, the CPS 350 KW is
designed to work with solarplants ranging from two
megawatts to two gigawatts. CPSis the world's most bankable
inverter brand and is America'snumber one choice for solar
(38:13):
plants, now offering solutionsfor commercial utility ESS and
balance of system requirementsgo to chintpowersystems.com or
call 855-584-7168, to find outmore. You.
I think that's one of the benefits that that
(00:02):
array can speak to across theindustry, is arrays been around
for 30 years. So we have systemsthat have been in the field for
decades. And so we do have, youknow, obviously, much smaller at
the at the at the early stages,and really have grown in scale
over over the past severalyears, but those products
(00:23):
sitting, sitting in the field,have provided us a lot of
information as far as thelongevity and the reliability of
these products in array as aleader in that space, and that's
one of our key valuepropositions that we we bring
forward. Are
intro (00:40):
you speeding the energy transition here at the Clean
Power Hour, our host, TimMontague, bring you the best in
solar, batteries and cleantechnologies every week. Want to
go deeper into decarbonization.
We do too. We're here to helpyou understand and command the
commercial, residential andutility, solar, wind and storage
industries. So let's get to ittogether. We can speed the
(01:01):
energy transition.
Tim Montague (01:06):
Today on the Clean Power Hour, we're going to do a
deep dive on a topic that isnear and dear to many energy
professionals hearts, and thatis bringing down the cost of
renewable energy. And my guesttoday is Aaron Gable Nick. He's
the Chief Strategy Officer andChief Technology Officer for
array technologies, the globaltracker and racking
(01:29):
manufacturer. Welcome to theshow.
Aaron Gabelnick (01:31):
Thanks. Tim, pleasure to be here
Tim Montague (01:34):
before we get into it. Check out all of our content
at cleanpowerhour.com Give us arating and review on Apple or
Spotify. Tell a friend about theshow and reach out to me on
LinkedIn. I love hearing from mylisteners. So Aaron, you have
been at array for about a yearand a half, and you're
relatively new to the solarindustry. So I'd love to hear a
(01:55):
little breakdown of how you gotthere at array and why array?
Aaron Gabelnick (02:03):
Great. Well, I'll start with the sort of the
why array part. So I'm, as youmentioned, I'm Chief Strategy
and Technology Officer forarray, and I honestly think it's
the best job here. I lead thestrategy organization, sort of
working to define Ray's globalstrategy for its existing and
future business. And I'm alsoleading technology and product
organization, which includesproduct management, the
(02:27):
technology department, newproduct development, as well as
application sustainingengineering. So from this
viewpoint, I have theopportunity to help shape the
future direction of array andlead a great group of people in
its development and execution.
So I really, I'm really honoredand pleased to be to be in this
role. And as you mentioned, Tim,I, you know, came to array a
(02:47):
little bit over a year and ahalf ago. I spent most of my
career in, you know, consultingand working for the traditional
energy and industrial companiesin that space. And I think that
that background providesadditional perspective on the
energy landscape in which weoperate, and perspective and how
others in the energy ecosystemthink about sort of
opportunities and growth. Andthere were sort of a couple key
aspects in that were formativein my decision, in my career
(03:18):
transition the first as mycareer was developing in
traditional energy space, right,the importance of sustainability
and the energy transition wasbecoming more and more apparent
and in sort of the consciousnessof the of the traditional energy
industry, and My role in thoseindustries was more on the
(03:41):
strategy and businessdevelopment side. So it's often
at the forefront of seeing whatwas happening and participating
in the latest technologies andinnovation in alternative energy
space, such as renewable fuels,carbon capture, green hydrogen,
green methanol and solar. So Icould see, you know, see that
(04:01):
opportunity growingconsistently. So when the
opportunity to arose to joinarray, I was sort of well
prepped in my in first for manyyears in understanding the
importance of alternativeenergies. And, you know,
specifically with array, thatthe mission, you know, really
called to me so that, you know,the mission is generating energy
(04:24):
with integrity for a sustainableworld. And that resonated very
well with with myself and withmany employees, and I think
pretty much everybody in theindustry that resonates with so
we want to provide energy,employment, advancement to
society, done so with integrityand with a sustainable mindset.
And I don't think anyone candisagree with those with the
(04:48):
with that purpose, and that isvery important to me, and I
think important to many of thearray employees, and I think the
broader, broader industry aswell cool and that. Part of the
decision that I came to join.
Well,
Tim Montague (05:03):
you've joined a great company. Array is very
well known in the utility solarspace, anything you know, say,
five megawatts and up whereyou're using single axis
trackers. If you are an energyprofessional and don't work in
utility space, then you may notbe super familiar with trackers,
(05:23):
so let's just break down what isthe value proposition of using a
single axis tracker versus fixedtilt solar racking.
Aaron Gabelnick (05:33):
So, so the story goes back to our to our
founder, our founding father,Ron Corio, who who built array.
And the story goes, at least soI've been told Ron was working
on enhancing solar arrays andsolar panels themselves, and
realized a little bit over 30years ago that the greatest
(05:56):
impact that he could have onincreasing the efficiency of
solar panels was to have themtrack and follow the sun, and
that's the genesis of a ray. Sowhat we do with the single axis
tracker is follow the sun as itrises in the east and sets in
the west. It's a little bit moremore sophisticated and
(06:17):
complicated than that, right?
There are cloudy days, there arewind events, severe weather
events as well, where we have toprotect the system. But
effectively, you know,essentially, the main purpose of
array and for single axistrackers is to follow the sun as
it rises and sets throughout,throughout the day. And you
know, at various latitudes, youknow, there are different
(06:41):
enhancements, but percentages.
But you know, the around 25% ormore efficiency is gained by
following the, you know, the sunas it traverses over the sky,
than if it were just to sit inthe fixed position facing south
Tim Montague (06:59):
at the end of the day. What trackers do is they
bring down the the lifetime orlong term cost of energy, right?
Because you're you're gettingmore energy per kWh, or per kW
of solar in Illinois, okay, herein the upper Midwest, you
(07:20):
install a tracker, you get 1600plus kWh, kW P out of your array
for fixed tilt, you're lookingat maybe 12 or 1300 so it is a
big Delta, and there is a tradeoff, because You're now
installing a mechanical devicethat moves the panels east and
(07:43):
west right. The panels areostensibly flat to ground, and
then they point east in themorning and West in the
afternoon to maximize the amountof radiation they're gathering.
And we, in some respects, we'redoing a grand experiment Aaron,
because trackers completelyswept the field in a very short
period of time. We went fromusing mostly fixed tilt to now
(08:06):
using 96% I think is the lateststatistic trackers for utility
solar in the United States. Soit, you know, it pretty much
blew fixed tilt out of thewater. The exception being very
far northern climbs as you getinto the very far northern parts
of the US or Canada, theadvantages of a tracker go away,
(08:29):
and you will resort to fixedtilt just because of the angle
of the sun in the sky. But thismechanical device is mechanical,
and it can fail, but it can alsohelp to save your solar array.
So let's talk about this. I'mnot trying to poke a stick in in
(08:50):
a Ray's eye at all. I mean, likewe said, you completely dominate
trackers. Completely dominatethe industry, and array is the
number two global trackermanufacturer, only after next
tracker. So you're doingsomething right, clearly. But
what are the pros and cons? Iguess, as you see it, of having
this mechanical, you know,having to move the thing with
(09:11):
with motors and gears, the gearis very prominent in your
particular solution. And I lovehow you have that, that name
carved out of that center drivegear. But what are the pros and
cons of using trackers?
Aaron Gabelnick (09:28):
Yeah, I think, I think they're mostly pros, but
I am probably biased in that, inthat statement, but right as you
referred to, you know, the useof trackers and sort of its
dominance, at least in the US,you know, I sort of break it
down in what I call the threeL's, you know, land, labor and
latitude. I think you mentionedlatitude. You know, previously,
(09:52):
as you get further and furthernorth in the northern
hemisphere, South and thesouthern hemisphere, you know,
the efficiency of a. Tracker isreduced at that point. You point
the panels most just south, andyou let them sit from a labor
and latitude, or labor and landperspective, right as land costs
(10:12):
become very, very high, or laborcosts become very, very high,
putting in a tracker is issometimes not the best answer,
because with a tracker, you needspace for the trackers to track,
you know, for them to move, andthey can create shadows as they
as the sun traverses the sky. Soyou want to have them spaced out
(10:35):
further further apart. So, youknow, one of the areas where you
would consider fixed tilt iswhere you have a very expensive
piece of land, where you don'thave the space for for a
tracker, you know, another is ifinstallation labor is very, very
high. You know, trackers aremore expensive to to install
(10:58):
depending upon the cost thatcost of labor. But as you
mentioned, like in the US, youknow, the market is speaking
with with 90 plus percent of atleast utility scale solar being,
being with a tracker, and that'sreally just due to the
efficiency, as you previouslymentioned, the the amount of
energy gained with withinvestment is very clear, it's
(11:22):
very economical to have thetracker. Makes a lot of sense,
especially for the utility scaleand very large scale sites that
are oftentimes in areas wherethere is more, less costly land
that's that is available, andtherefore you have the benefit
that comes with the tracker.
Tim Montague (11:43):
What about O and M? Because that's where this
kind of grand experiment ishappening. We just don't know
how well trackers are going tohold up. But how long has array
been making trackers? What aresome of your what are the
historical data telling us? Andin general, what can asset
(12:07):
owners expect out of theirsingle access trackers?
Aaron Gabelnick (12:11):
And I think that's one of the benefits that
array can speak to across theindustry, is arrays been around
for 30 years, so we have systemsthat have been in the field for
decades. And so we do have, youknow, obviously, much smaller at
the at the at the early stages,and really have grown in scale
(12:31):
over over the past severalyears. But those products
sitting, sitting in the field,have provided us a lot of
information as far as thelongevity and the reliability of
these products in array as aleader in that space. And that's
one of our key valuepropositions that we we bring
forward our design, at least forfor the dura track platform,
(12:56):
which is the platform that wesell in the United States, is a
mechanical in nature. There areno batteries, so there's limited
O and M there. There's noscheduled O M that's required
for our system. So it is, it isdesigned to sit in operation for
30 years with limited with noscheduled maintenance and and
(13:19):
that is really one of thebenefits that we have. It's
really a, you know, sort of setit and forget it, type of, type
of system that we have, that wehave developed, you know, that
that comes with, you know, thereare a lot of benefits that come
from that a lower lcue, from anO and M perspective, comes,
comes with that as well, and,and that's, that's how we're so
(13:43):
known in the industry. Andactually, our, the name of our,
of our gold standard product,being dura track, comes from its
durability in the field, whichyou know, to operate it outside
in harsh weather conditions for30 years is not an easy feat.
Tim Montague (14:00):
Let's talk a little bit about your journey
and coming from outside of thesolar PV industry. What is your
experience, both at array and Iguess in general in the solar
space, We're famous for oursolar coaster. We have entered a
(14:20):
period here in 2025 ofrelatively moderate turbulence,
I would say, with a newadministration in Washington
trying to attack some of theincentives. I think the 30 year
outlook is still very good forsolar. We are, you know,
globally, headed towards a grid50% powered by solar PV. Will we
(14:46):
do it by 2030, 2035, 2050, thatis TBD. But we are going to do
that. I think there's noquestion in most people's minds
who are in the know. But whathas your journey been? Like
Aaron, and what is your, Iguess, critical assessment of
our industry,
Aaron Gabelnick (15:05):
sure. Well, I think you described it well,
right? Some short termturbulence for sure or unknowns.
So, you know, it's pretty clearwe don't know exactly where
tariffs and tax credits and andother things are likely to go.
But as you look at things from afrom a long term perspective, I
(15:26):
can't help but you know, sort ofagree with you and and I say
that more from a globalperspective of seeing where,
from an LC perspective, wheresolar is going, and it's long
term trajectory, so it might be,there might be some bumps in the
road, certainly in the nearterm, but the long term outlook
looks, looks fairly, you know,fairly solid. And I sort of
(15:51):
bring to that, you know, beforeI joined array, I was working
for a large national oil companyin the Middle East, and living
in the Middle East, working onsome of their downstream
strategy. And you could eventhere, you could see the mind,
mind shift, mindset shifting.
And right the saying used to beand I was working in Downstream
(16:12):
strategy, sort of it's a matterof time before we realized that
the natural resources above theground are worth more than that
the natural resources below theground. And this is, this is in
an area, in a country that's notshort of cheap energy coming
from traditional fossil fuels.
(16:33):
And if you look at where solaris growing the fastest, and
where the largest, certainlyutility scale solar projects are
being built. It's in the MiddleEast, and a lot of lot of
companies, including array, areare looking towards the Middle
East for for that growth. Sowhether it's a, you know, a 3.7
(16:55):
gigawatt project in greenhydrogen, or huge 15 gigawatt
tenders that are being releasedin Saudi Arabia, there are, this
is, you know, again, a regionwhere they're not short
traditional forms of energy, yetthey're buying in and building
solar. So even in those regions,you know, the future is fairly
(17:19):
clear. So even though theremight be some short term
turbulence in the US, and thingsare settling down now globally,
and you see where things aregoing, and you see where others
are taking, taking solar, and Ithink that that's a good
position to be in
Tim Montague (17:40):
in the pre show, we talked about severe weather,
which is on many people's minds.
You know, whether that's, Imean, some things directly
impact the racking, for example,hail and wind. There are other
forms of severe weather that arealso in the news, like fires,
but that's not something you canreally control or impact
(18:03):
necessarily with your tracker,but hail and wind for sure, you
can improve the resiliency of aproject by doing different
things. What is a raise currentthinking on and I guess,
deployment of technology toimprove the survivability of
severe weather?
Aaron Gabelnick (18:26):
That's a great question. I'll speak about Win,
win first, wind and arraysperspective or technology in
dealing with with wind is uniquein the tracker industry, so many
single access trackers that areout there, not, not, not array,
well, including array for forour European and in South
(18:52):
American platform, usesomething, what's called active
stow. And what that means isthat they have a methodology. In
mind that when they read windspeed and wind duration and
based on a certain algorithm,will put the panels into a safe
mode, a safe, safe stoveposition when there is high
(19:16):
wind. And so there's there's analgorithm based on wind speed
and duration of the gusts, etc,where you do not want the the
system to be not protectedagainst high winds, the rate
dura track position is uniqueand different, different from
that there we actually Use aphysical mechanism to protect
(19:41):
against high wind, and thatphysical mechanism is a as
called a slip clutch. Sobasically the way that it works
is that, especially for a rowthat's on the exterior,
experiences a very high gust ofwind that basically pushes the.
In the row into a safe stoveposition, which is a mechanical
(20:05):
stop position for us at 52degrees, and that basically the
wind will come along and push,push the row into that safe
position that oftentimes blocksthe interior rows from that that
that high wind. But if the windis strong enough, and if the you
know terrain is different, andyou actually get that that high
(20:27):
wind, you will push some of theother rows as well. So
basically, the wind pushes ourour panels into a safe position,
and our tracker into a safeposition from from a high wind
perspective, that allows for allthe other rows to keep on
tracking. They track normally inthe windy condition, and only
(20:51):
the rows that are affected bythe wind are pushed, pushed by
the wind into a safe so staysafe, safe stove position. What
that does, effectively isbecause the other rows are still
tracking. They produce moreelectricity, more energy. And we
have studies, and we've done anumber of studies and third
party studies as well, thatindicate that our safe stove
(21:15):
with with dura track, withpassive stove, can gain up to up
to two 3% additional energy fromfrom that, that methodology, and
that equates to, oftentimes, twothree cents a watt for over the
NPV lifetime of this, of thesolar facility
Tim Montague (21:37):
you lost me there for a sec. Safe stow improves
the output of the array,
Aaron Gabelnick (21:43):
yes, yes, because only the rows that need
to move. Ah, okay, got it withactive stow protocols, because
they want to protect most of therows. And there are different
protocols that are out there,and different different
companies have differentalgorithms and different ways to
stow, but on average, many moreof those rows move to protect
(22:04):
them in a high wind condition.
And for a ray only, the rowsthat need to move move because
the wind is pushing them. Sothat reduces the number of rows
that are sort of in a non idealposition, and then stop tracking
the sun, which in a very windycondition. We're talking, you
know, 120 miles an hour, 50meters a second, plus. Type of
(22:25):
wind conditions can equate to,you know, two or 3% higher
energy production over thelifetime of that system, and
that is of significant benefitto our customers.
Tim Montague (22:39):
The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS
America, maker of NorthAmerica's number one three phase
string inverter with over eightgigawatts shipped in the US. The
CPS product lineup includesstring inverters ranging from 25
kW to 350 kW, their flagshipinverter, the CPS 350 KW is
(23:01):
designed to work with solarplants ranging from two
megawatts to two gigawatts. CPSis the world's most bankable
inverter brand, and is America'snumber one choice for solar
plants now offering solutionsfor commercial utility ESS and
balance of system requirementsgo to chintpowersystems.com or
(23:22):
call 855-584-7168, to find outmore. Yeah, I think of two
things, and I'm no, I'm noexpert at this. But you know,
there's just the you've got ayou've got a row of panels
sitting like this, potentially,and wind coming across here,
(23:44):
catching the panels and pullingon the panels themselves, or on
the whole torque tube. But thenthere's also this thing called
galloping that is a phenomenonin in single axis trackers. Can
you talk a little bit about someof the factors that you have to
control for
Aaron Gabelnick (24:03):
absolutely so with torsional galloping is
when, basically when, when asystem is flat, there can become
a resonance in the wind, inwhich case there can be, you
know, I think we've all seenthose, those old videos of of
the bridge in, I think it wasWashington state, right, where
(24:25):
you had, you know, destructionof that well that can occur with
solar systems as well, that areflat, where you get a resonance
with the wind and thatgalloping, which eventually
causes that resonance, causesthese sort of catastrophic
events. Well, that that doesn'thappen with with the array
tracker. Basically the wind willjust push, you know where you
(24:46):
had a bridge that was solid inits in its space flat, that wind
pushes the pushes the panels toa mechanical stop at 52 degrees,
which is a safe position whereyou where you. Will not get that
galloping. And so that issomething that we, you know, as
part of the design in thepassive stow to avoid, avoid
(25:09):
that, that low angle galloping.
Tim Montague (25:13):
And then, what about keeping the modules on the
torque tube? What are theconsiderations there? Because
that's also a very serious pointof stress, is it not?
Aaron Gabelnick (25:27):
Oh, absolutely.
And you know, that's where ourmodule mounts and attachments
are extremely important. And wego through a significant amount
of testing of the design ofthose module mounts to withstand
those wind pressures that canoccur because effectively, you
have a large sale, if you thinkabout it, and so the module
(25:50):
mounting undergoes a significantamount of design and test, both
before we launch a new productAnd with the product in the
field as well, to maintain that,that attachment and to limit
that, that possibility fromhappening.
Tim Montague (26:10):
So artificial intelligence is in the news
every day. Now, to what extentare you leveraging artificial
intelligence in in this, youknow, World of of smart stove
technology.
Aaron Gabelnick (26:25):
So artificial intelligence. What the nice
thing about the passive sto isthat it is, as the name
suggests, it's passive. So wedon't, you know, the system
doesn't need to be smart inorder for it to work. The wind
just has to push it. So that's,you know, in that particular
instance, at at array ingeneral, we are using artificial
intelligence and thinkingthrough both from a from a
(26:48):
business process perspective,also in our engineering
department as well, we'veinstituted, you know, several
pilot programs in artificialintelligence in working through
our our engineering servicerequests, you know, as we have,
as you had mentioned, you know,80 gigawatts of solar tracker
(27:11):
installed across the across theworld. So our customers come up
with a number of engineeringservice requests, a number of
questions. And so we're usingartificial intelligence to help
us in processing those, thoserequests to gain to gain
efficiency. We're also thinkingof using artificial intelligence
and other aspects of our of ourdesign and engineering processes
(27:35):
as well.
Tim Montague (27:37):
Cool. So just a couple other things I think we
should touch on, and I'll letyou take I'll let you take your
pick. I'm a huge fan ofautomation in construction and
array has made an investment ina company called swap robotics,
(27:58):
which entered the space with arobotic mower. And check out
episode 229, from last August,with Tim Lichty, the founder and
CEO of swap. So that's one isautomation, and then two is
domestic content. So I'll letyou pick what is a more
important topic for array,
Aaron Gabelnick (28:19):
sure, I'll speak it. I don't think it's
more important. I'll just, Ithink it's sort of more in my in
more my wheelhouse, the supplychain, elements with domestic
content. I mean that that'scritical for for a lot of
projects, especially in theUnited States. And we've done a
really good job of of having afully domestic content supply
(28:39):
chain, and have for four yearsthat that's one of our passions,
especially in the US and inother areas in which we operate,
as having that local content.
But I will speak morespecifically about swap given,
given the technology anglethat's there, you know, we
invested, it was made public, weinvested in swap robotics last
(29:01):
quarter. And you know, a fewthings really drew us to to swap
as we're thinking aboutautomation as a way to reduce
insulation costs and thereforereduce the LCOE for our
customers. So you know, some ofthe reasons that we we chose to
work with swap, and we'reworking with others as well in
(29:23):
the space, but we really likeswap, and chose to invest in
them. Is, is their experience inthat vegetation management. So
their robots have been out inthe field and working with array
systems and other competitorsystems for for years. They
don't have any safety incidents.
So, so safety is extremelyimportant to swap, and I'm sure
(29:45):
Tim mentioned that in thepodcast. He seems to mention it
everywhere he goes, because itis critically important to to
swap and to and to array,especially in dealing with
automation and robots in thefield. You know, the first.
Incident is going to be a, youknow, very, very well
publicized. So we want to makesure that safe, there's zero
(30:07):
safety incidents. And swap hasbeen phenomenal in doing that.
And so their experience inworking with robots in the
field, working with with solarsystems that already exist, and
then extending that into ainstallation. And automation of
that installation is a is agreat fit for array, great fit
(30:31):
for our customers. So we'reworking with them in our at our
test facilities, and alsoworking at their facilities, in
in Waterloo, Canada, on oninstallation efficiency and
improving installation,especially in the pick and place
of solar panels onto the torquetube, or sort of the main
(30:53):
structural tube that holds thethe solar panels and they're
working on that pick and placeof solar panels onto that and
installation onto that torquetube.
Tim Montague (31:05):
And when do you anticipate, like deployment at
some scale of robotic pickingand placing of solar panels
we're
Aaron Gabelnick (31:17):
working on with some customers at this point,
some alpha sites. We hope tohave that operational in the
second half, last quarter of theyear. So working on Alpha sites,
and once the Alpha sites getproven, then commercialization
can occur from there. Butlooking at alpha sites probably
(31:38):
in the second half or in q4 thisyear?
Tim Montague (31:41):
Cool? Well, I look forward to seeing that come to
life, and would love to talkmore about that on a future
episode. What else should ourlisteners know? We've got a few
minutes left. Aaron, there's,you know, lots of stuff. We
could talk about supply chain,durability, LCOE, but what else
(32:08):
should our listeners know aboutarray technologies that they may
not know
Aaron Gabelnick (32:14):
sure one of we did touch a little bit on on
severe weather, so maybe I'llhit just a minute or two on one
of the new products that we'relaunching, which is our 77
degree hail still tracker,because hail is is one of those
problems becoming more and morefrequent, especially as solar
(32:36):
system solar sites become moreprevalent in The areas,
especially in Texas, and sort ofthe swath up north from that.
And, you know, damage to tosolar utility scale solar
systems on by hail is veryvisible and sort of known in
(32:56):
the, you know, in the general,general news media as well. And
so we're developing a product,and have are releasing a product
that stows the solar panels at77 degrees, which is, you know,
fairly close to vertical, toprotect the panels from damage
from from severe hail. Andwe've, we've developed that,
(33:20):
that product and in the in a waythat that we hope will limit
some of those, you know, thosethose damaging storms that
really can be catastrophic to toto systems in the field, and
that, that's an area we spend alot of time working on. I know
you've had a podcast, I think,previously, with John from VDE
(33:42):
about that, and that's, that'ssomething that we're, we're,
we're working on hard, and wereally want to to push into,
into those areas.
Tim Montague (33:52):
Yeah, for sure, Hale has become a no pun
intended major for sim solarindustry. You know, just with
some, with some big projectfailures, and you know, there's
every indication that hailstorms are going to increase in
size and frequency. So when yousay 77 though, I just want to
(34:16):
make sure I understand this. Isthat, like, if there's a front
coming from from my left? Is it77 facing the front or putting
the back of the array to thatstorm? So to speak? Ideally,
Aaron Gabelnick (34:30):
we'd be to the back, okay, at 77 degrees into
the storm, if that's whathappened. 77 degrees the reason
we chose 77 for a couple ofreasons. One, is sort of a
physical limitation of our ofour system, but then two, at
that degree, at that angle view,it's more of a glancing blow,
(34:52):
even into the into the directionof the storm. So we, we have a
hierarchy of decision makingwhen it comes to hail. So, you
know, the first order is, didthe system stow? Right? So, if
it stowed that, that sort ofthat that helped solve, you
know, 90% of the issues did itstow into the storm, into the
(35:14):
direction of the storm, or awayfrom the direction of the storm,
if you're away from thedirection of the storm, that
solves pretty much, almost mostof the issues, issues at all. I
mean, herd animals figured thisout generations ago. If the
storm is coming, you put yourback to the wind, and that's a
safer position to be in. And thethird order is the angle at
(35:34):
which you stow. So we think thatwe have, you know, from the
first two protocols, we have avery, very solid foundation. The
third having a higher angle issomething that we're releasing
very shortly, and that isideally away from the direction
of the storm. But even if it isin the direction of the storm at
(35:56):
77 degrees, the glow isglancing, especially with the
wind and most panels canwithstand, at least from a
theoretical perspective, youknow, even a four inch size hail
ball at that at that angle. Wow.
Tim Montague (36:14):
Yeah. Check out Episode 238, with John previtali
from VD Americas. That was fromOctober last year where we talk
a lot about hail and solar. Iwant to thank Aaron for coming
on the show today. Aarongablenick With array
(36:34):
technologies, check out all ofour content at
cleanpowerhour.com Please giveus a rating and a review. Reach
out to me on LinkedIn and followus on YouTube. Aaron, how can
our listeners find you?
Aaron Gabelnick (36:48):
Well on our website, arraytechinc.com, I am,
I am there. You can always reachout to me. I'm I'm always
available. My contactinformation is there and happy
to work with with any of ouranyone who's interested, and
also our our customers. We'revery customer centric, working
(37:08):
with our customers on all thethings that I mentioned, you
know, previously, especially,you know, working with alpha
sites, and working on our hailproducts, etc, and our new
generation of module mounts aswell. So happy to talk to
customers, if I haven't already,and with with others as well.
Tim Montague (37:28):
Awesome. Well, I want to thank Aaron Gable, Nick
CTO, and Chief Strategy Officerfor array technologies, for
coming on the show. I'm TimMontague. Let's grow solar and
storage. Take care. The CleanPower Hour is brought to you by
CPS America, maker of NorthAmerica's number one three phase
string inverter with over eightgigawatts shipped in the US. The
(37:51):
CPS product lineup includesstring inverters ranging from 25
kW to 350 kW. Their flagshipinverter, the CPS 350 KW is
designed to work with solarplants ranging from two
megawatts to two gigawatts. CPSis the world's most bankable
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(38:13):
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