Device to Promote Snow Shedding from PV Panels to Improve Energy Yield and Critical Infrastructure Resilience

Winter storms cause disruptions to transportation, the electrical grid, heating, business operation, emergency management services and on PV solar generation. Large storms can create dangerous, extreme conditions across entire regions and therefore the low-cost recovery of electricity supply and generation is of critical importance. After winter storms, PV arrays can be covered with snow for days and weeks reducing annual production by up to 16% in the continental USA creating financial loss, O&M challenges and reduces PV’s benefits to critical infrastructure reliability and grid reliability. Norwich Technologies (NT) has developed a device that improves shedding of snow from PV arrays, with prototype testing showing up to 50% recapture of energy and revenue losses from snow coverage. The snow-shedding devices can be installed on PV modules in new installations and on existing PV systems as a retrofit. This technology is applicable to utility scale, commercial & industrial (C&I), and residential PV applications. During the proposed Phase I effort, NT will analyze prototype data gathered during the 2018–19 winter season to characterize performance of the prototype design and establish a Figure of Merit for this baseline performance. NT will then refine the device to increase performance and minimize cost. The improved pilot-phase device will be tested first in the laboratory and then ina wider field-test program to evaluate the impact of snow type and environmental conditions on effectiveness. Based on this expanded field experience and documented performance history, NT plans commercialization and widespread deployment across a diverse geographical area during Phase II efforts. With the ability to recover energy otherwise lost to snow coverage at a low installed cost and decrease the time for PV arrays to recover to full functionality after winter storms, the snow shedder has a very strong value proposition for the growing installation base of PV generation systems installed in areas subject to yearly snowfall events.