Solar Power International 2017 Exhibition Photos

[Las Vegas, Nevada USA]

201 clouds on a sunny day

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I landed at SPI 2017 without having been to a solar tradeshow since last year’s event. As a result, I was greeted by a plethora of solar cell and module technologies which all seemed new to me.

In photos, here is a quick view of some companies, products, or both I found interesting wandering around the Exhibition.

AlsoEnergy demoed operations monitoring with integrated weather across multiple displays.
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CertainTeed Saint-Gobain had their rather conventional Apollo Tile II solution on display using monocrystalline silicon solar cells.
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GCL System Integration Technology Co. Ltd jumped on the oversized module bandwagon with the GCL-P6/96, a 96 cell, 450W (Watt) beast weighing 36.5kg (kilogram) or ~80.5 pounds. Can two installers lift these modules all day?
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Hanergy Holding Group had a pavilion featuring their portfolio of thin film companies. MiaSolé featured the Hantile as shown. Hantile is only certified for China so far sans rating label, and a spec sheet was unavailable.
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Could this non-working Alta Devices concept unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fly?
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i-Solar Energy has a mounting solution for new and retrofitting insulated roofs.
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Is this the Mercedes-Benz of storage? Why does it use an Infineon TriCore microcontroller!
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Solaria had the PowerXT rooftop modules attracting due attention at their stand. Cutting the cells with custom metallization into strips, 67 conventional solar cells are squeezed into a 60 cell module footprint.
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Soliculture has developed a next generation PV (photovoltaic) backsheet, SL300, using a single layer, 300um (micron) advance copolymer with clear and white options as part of the US Department of Energy (DOE) SunShot program.
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Sun Bandit eschews solar thermal to simplify hot water generation with solar PV.
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I saw this SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) P-17 Performance Series (P-Series) Commercial Solar Panel at the Schletter stand. The SunPower P-Series and Solaria PowerXT technologies look very similar while each company claims to have significant IP (Intellectual Property) backing their approach.
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Sunpreme debuted the Maxima HxB series modules featuring a BiFacial, half cell design delivering up to 400W, 440W with a 10% backside Bifacial boost, and checking the 1500VDC (Volts Direct Current) maximum system voltage box.
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Yuneec had drone solutions for automated, aerial inspections of PV installations using cameras and thermal imaging free of the cyber risks plaguing DJI.
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Leaving Las Vegas, Solar Power International is returning to Anaheim, California USA, next year from September 24-27, 2018. I recall getting to and from the airport was a bit of a hassle.

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