To support projects from the East Coast to California, ProtekPark Solar is able to source their extruded racking supports from a nearby Hydro plant; reducing transportation costs and assuring fast delivery. Hydro’s work with ProtekPark Solar is one of the latest Hydro solar projects involving the use of extruded components for rack and mounting systems.
Retrofitting parking structures with solar:
ProtekPark Solar designs, manufactures and installs durable, functional and attractive solar carport structures on surface lots and parking garage rooftops. Their mission is to convert the world to solar power, one parking lot at a time. It typically involves installing solar parking structures on college campuses, hospitals, and commercial garages. Because the parking lots are in use during construction, the work needs to be completed in as short a time as possible. Prevailing wage rates often apply to the solar projects, which also drives the necessity of a quick completion. To meet the very tight deadlines, Hydro works closely with ProtekPark Solar to develop a production which reduces turn around time.
On one recent project for a veterans hospital located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, ProtekPark Solar built the solar carport structures on existing parking lots. The frame mounts were extruded at our Phoenix, Arizona facilities and delivered in two shipments. Each shipment contained 25,000 to 30,000 pounds of aluminum extrusions.
The single frame solar mountings we extrude for ProtekPark Solar are made using a 6105 or 6005A alloy which Hydro casts in-house at our remelt facilities (Hydro remelt billet contains more than 70% recycled content). These alloys are ideal for providing the structural strength needed for mounting systems.
Simple extrusion profile
The frame shape is small and simple so we can use an eight-inch, single-hole press. The extruded components are about 55 feet long out of the press. We cut-to-length, provide standard packaging, and ship to the customer’s site. The design involves a 2.5 inch angle extrusion spaced at roughly four-foot intervals to install the rail system.
While the shape is not complex, the engineering behind it is. ProtekPark Solar’s standard panel system mounts a 39-inch by 65-inch solar panel rated at 240 watts. To support the solar panels, ProtekPark Solar’s engineers developed a mounting system that includes two rails to provide the mounts needed for the panels.
The extruded frame mountings are installed unfinished as part of the solar racking system. ProtekPark Solar designed the systems for a high degree of versatility. The profile of the frame allows the system to be mounted to any type of structure, with carports being the most common. This flexibility in mounting allows ProtekPark Solar to be very competitive in the solar energy market because they minimize project engineering costs while being easier to install, compared to a custom designed solution. From an extrusion standpoint, ProtekPark Solar enjoys lower costs by using the same die for each project.
Solar energy projects driven by energy credits
Today the solar energy market is driven by incentive programs such as power purchase agreements, involving the purchase and sale of energy credits. This has led to financial entities investing in the market; especially in solar projects involving schools, universities, and hospitals where the building ownership is not likely to change over a period of years.
Recycled aluminum essential to green building practices
ProtekPark Solar is committed to green building practices. Their mounting systems are ideal for anywhere an institution wants to use solar as a green energy solution. For this reason they place a high value on receiving extruded components from Hydro which contain more than 70% recycled aluminum-no matter which Hydro plan their current project may be located near.
Hydro and Solar
In addition to manufacturing extrusions used for solar frames and mounting systems, Hydro has a joint venture with Umicore of Belgium for the production of solar-grade silicon for use in solar cells. We are also a part owner of Ascent Solar, a North America producer of super-thin, flexible solar cell modules. Another company we have an ownership stake in is NorSun, which will produce monocrystalline silicon wafers for the production of solar cells. We have a financial interest in Convexa, a Norwegian venture fund focused on technology companies within solar energy.
