[Las Vegas, Nevada USA]

201 clouds on a sunny day

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.

CertainTeed Saint-Gobain had their rather conventional Apollo Tile II solution on display using monocrystalline silicon solar cells.

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?

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.

Could this non-working Alta Devices concept unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fly?

i-Solar Energy has a mounting solution for new and retrofitting insulated roofs.

Is this the Mercedes-Benz of storage? Why does it use an Infineon TriCore microcontroller!

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.

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.

Sun Bandit eschews solar thermal to simplify hot water generation with solar PV.

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.

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.

Yuneec had drone solutions for automated, aerial inspections of PV installations using cameras and thermal imaging free of the cyber risks plaguing DJI.

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.