YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO — The manufacturer of Solar FlexRack, the most innovative PV mounting solution on the market today, is now introducing another cost- and labor-saving innovation that greatly simplifies the process of installing solar panels.

The SFR Smart Clip and Smart Bonding Clip come with all hardware pre-assembled within the clip. Modules simply snap into the clips, which feature a unique patent-pending mechanical spring-action design that holds them permanently in place using constant applied pressure. It is not necessary to hold the module while installing additional clips. Both clips need to be torqued down only once; thus, re-torque, long-reach scenarios and the need to work above modules are eliminated.

The Smart Clip is an end clip that can be custom-designed to fit any framed module. Top Smart Clips are installed on the ground before the Solar FlexRack is lifted into place — thus, there is no need for ladders on most job sites.

The Smart Bonding Clip is designed to be used as a mid clip to bond two PV modules at once. The wings of the Smart Bonding clip feature sharpened stainless steel edges which, when the clip is torqued down, pierce the anodic surface of the module at two separate locations for safety. This process creates a bond from module to rack, while simultaneously completing bonding all the way from module to ground post. With this method, the need for ground straps is completely eliminated.

The Smart Bonding Clip can be custom-designed to fit any framed module. It is Intertek-approved to ETL and UL Standards (UL 2703 and UL 1703) for the Solar FlexRack system.

SFR Smart Clip

SFR Smart Bonding Clip

YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO — Northern States Metals, a Youngstown, Ohio-based manufacturer of aluminum extrusions, has announced the appointment of Tom Meola to the position of President and CEO. Northern States Metals is also the creator and manufacturer of the Solar FlexRack, the most innovative photovoltaic rack mounting solution on the market today.

Northern States Metals was founded in 1974 by Paul Cusson, who will move from his present position as President and CEO to Chairman of the Board. From the start, Cusson fostered a culture built on teamwork and commitment, and in more recent years has transitioned the business from servicing traditional industrial markets to the emerging renewable energy market.

“The commitment to innovation, hard work and entrepreneurial spirit resonates profoundly at Northern States Metals,” says Meola. “Paul and his team have done an excellent job in positioning the company as a leading supplier of solar energy ‘balance of systems’ components.”

Meola says he is assuming his duties as president “with an eye on the future. My goal is to leverage what Paul and Team have developed and build a sustaining growth organization that will provide opportunities for our employees and the community.”

Cusson says “We are most happy to have found and recruited Tom. He is intelligent, thoughtful, personable and a very hard worker. He has already made great contributions during his short tenure here at Northern States.”

Tom Meola earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and an MBA from Youngstown State University. His extensive experience in finance and operations includes serving as President and Chief Operating Officer for Premix, Inc. and Quantum Composites, a leading developer and manufacturer of thermoset composite materials and custom molded parts.

He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Composites Manufacturing Association and the Advisory Board of Directors for Factory Mutual Insurance Company. Meola is also a board member for the Ashtabula County Civic Development Corporation.

YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO —  Another “green” initiative has benefited from the use of the Solar FlexRack, the most innovative PV module racking solution on the market today.

Construction was completed in December 2011 on a 1 MW solar farm located in the southwest corner of the airfield at the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport in Tennessee. The project, developed by the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Authority (CMAA), is the first phase of an effort that will eventually comprise a 3 MW solar farm. According to the CMMA, when the project is completed, the Chattanooga airport will be the first such facility in the world to be energy self-sufficient.

The project used 150 Solar FlexRacks to hold 4,096 Suniva 245w solar modules. Work began in October 2011; contractor for the project was Inman Solar of Atlanta, Georgia.

Dan Fossitt of Inman said the Solar FlexRack was the racking provider of choice due to its ease of installation, a very good price point, and the ease of working with the Solar FlexRack engineering team.

“We liked that this was was an American-made product, and that all the documents required for the project were delivered to us on time,” said Fossit. “The bonus was the time we saved installing the  Solar FlexRack; it really went up fast and with a small labor crew. We are very happy with the Solar FlexRack, and will use it again for other projects.”

The Solar FlexRack’s unique pre-assembled, unfolding design makes significantly accelerated construction times and dramatic savings on labor costs possible for any solar installation. While its nearest competitor touts an installation time of over 30 minutes with a six-man crew, a Solar FlexRack can be installed by a three-man crew in five minutes or less. Thus, when the Solar FlexRack is specified in an RFP, rack and panel installation bids can be as much as 50 percent lower.

YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO — The latest project to use Solar FlexRacks as the rack mounting system of choice has a “green” theme in more than one sense.

The Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens’ Centre for Sustainable Landscapes in Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park recently completed a 125kW solar project that will provide all the power for a new three-story educational, research and administrative center.

This facility is part of an overall initiative at Phipps that will simultaneously meet or exceed the following three standards of sustainable construction: the International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge; the US Green Building Council‘s highest level of certification, LEED Platinum; and the four-star certification of the SITES landscape rating system, also called the Sustainable Sites Initiative.

Finding a rack mounting solution that is compliant with all of these standards is challenging, but SolarWorld authorized installer Energy Independent Solutions found success when they turned to Solar FlexRack. The company erected 5 ground-mount and 66 roof-mount SolarFlex Rack units to hold 250W Sunmodule solar panels. Combined with energy efficiencies, solar hot water, natural light capture and geothermal heating and cooling, the project is designed to help free the centre from reliance on off-site energy.

According to Joe Morinville of Energy Independent Solutions, “We selected the Solar Flexrack for our Phipps Conservatory Center for Sustainable Landscapes project in Pittsburgh and are very happy with the results. The racking is well designed, has a clean look when completed and was delivered on time.

“As promised, it was a big labor saver,” Morinville continues. “This project was a ‘Living Building Challenge’ which is a difficult standard to meet. The Solar FlexRack team was great to work with, and made several design changes to comply with the program requirements. We are very happy we selected Solar Flexrack, and we intend to use them for future projects.”

Solar FlexRack is the world’s most innovative photovoltaic mounting solution. While its nearest competitor touts an installation time of over 30 minutes with a six-man crew, a Solar FlexRack can be installed by a three-man crew in five minutes or less.

This makes significantly accelerated construction times and dramatic savings on labor costs possible for any solar installation — an estimated $500,000+ savings per 10MW project. Thus, when the Solar FlexRack is specified in an RFP, the total bid could be as much as 40 percent lower for construction.

The Solar FlexRack™ booth at October’s Solar Power International 2011 in Dallas was a popular destination for the thousands of solar industry professionals who attended the annual show.

It was truly a wonderful event, and we enjoyed the opportunity to field your questions about the many new features of the next generation of Solar FlexRacks™. We’re excited about the potential for even greater cost and labor savings than ever before when the Solar FlexRack™ is specified.

We’ll be in touch with each of you personally in the days and weeks ahead. Thanks again for your interest in Solar FlexRack™.

GALLOWAY, NEW JERSEY — The latest solar installation to take advantage of the labor- and cost-saving features of the Solar FlexRack will provide 90 percent of the annual electricity demand at a New Jersey regional school and church facility.

The system, which uses 104 Solar FlexRacks to hold nearly 3,000 photovoltaic panels, came online in May at The Church of the Assumption of Galloway, New Jersey. According to Father Michael Matveenko, church pastor, the system “will deliver significant savings on our operational costs, while contributing to church, community and school environmental awareness.”

The ground-mount solar power system will generate a peak of 655 kw of DC power, which will be converted to an estimated 800,000kWHr of AC power annually.

The solar arrays were installed in a previously unusable four-acre site located in a storm water basin next to the facility. Contractor for the project was Calvi Electric Company. Brian Gemberling, an electrical engineer with Calvi and Church of the Assumption Project Manager, said the choice of Solar FlexRack to mount the 2,912 solar modules resulted in significant time and labor savings.

“We had an operator bringing in the racks with an articulating forklift, and with four workers we were able to get 104 Solar FlexRacks unfolded, bolted and mounted in just three days,” says Gemberling. “We had very little squaring to do after the fact. This rack self-squares with minor adjustments.

“We were also able to do the grounding on the rails with one person; this went very smoothly,” Gemberling continued. “And the system tray worked out very well for wire management. We were very pleased with how easily and quickly the Solar FlexRack came together.”

The Solar FlexRack makes significantly accelerated construction times and dramatic savings on labor costs possible for any solar installation — an estimated $500,000+ savings per 10MW project. Thus, when the Solar FlexRack is specified in an RFP, the total bid could be as much as 40 percent lower for construction.

However, another notable attribute of the Solar FlexRack is its durability and wind-resistance. Careful engineering has resulted in a product that stands up to the worst Mother Nature can throw at it: rain, snow, and high winds.

This was proven recently at a Solar FlexRack installation on the Virgin Islands. All Rounder Systems LLC of St. Croix was the project manager for a 451KW solar farm at the CE King Airport in St. Thomas. The 129 2×7-panel Solar FlexRacks at this installation were certified for winds of 150 mph.

Steve Larchuk, CEO of All Rounder Systems, says “After visiting the factory and meeting with the engineering and manufacturing team, I was sold on the Solar FlexRack system. It has performed extremely well at our airport installation on St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.”

In a subsequent note, Larchuck reported “Hurricane Irene came through last night, and your racks took the 65 mph winds without a blink.”

On hand for the dedication of the new Youngstown State University solar array on the rooftop of Moser Hall are Cynthia Anderson, president, Youngstown State University; Martin Abraham, Dean, YSU College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, 17th District, Ohio; John Philibin, Regional Sales Manager, Solar FlexRack; and Michael Shaut, CEO, Carbon Vision LLC.

YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO — While the Solar FlexRack is in use at solar installations all across the United States and Canada, the latest array to come online is very close to where the innovative racking system is manufactured — in parent company Northern States Metal’s hometown of Youngstown, Ohio.

Youngstown State University has unveiled a 4,100-square-foot solar array on the roof of Moser Hall, the campus building that is the home of YSU’s College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

Housing the photovoltaic panels used in the array are 59 Solar FlexRacks, which were manufactured at the Northern States Metals facility just a few miles from YSU. Zarbana Industries of Columbiana, Ohio supplies the aluminum rails that are part of the system.

The 64,000 kilowatt hours of electricity generated annually by the array will be used exclusively within Moser Hall, supplying electricity equivalent to what is needed to power as many has eight homes for an entire year. An additional benefit: as the door leading to the roof is located in one of the building’s classrooms, students will have an opportunity to observe the solar array as part of their learning experience.

The rooftop installation is a cooperative venture with Carbon Vision LLC of Shaker Heights, Ohio, who will own, operate and maintain the array while YSU purchases the energy. At the end of a six-year contract, YSU will own the system and generate the power free of charge. Over the 25-year life expectancy of the system, YSU is expected to save $160,000 in energy costs.

The Solar FlexRack’s unique, pre-assembled unfolding design means each rack can be installed by a three-man crew in 5 minutes or less. Solar FlexRack’s nearest competitor touts an installation time of 45 minutes with a six-man crew. The result: significantly accelerated construction times and dramatic savings on labor costs for any solar array project.

Advanced Solar Photonics, LLC (ASP) paired its BlackStar™ 400 Series photovoltaic modules with the Solar FlexRack for the 1.1MW Eagle Springs Solar Farm project. The combination will maximize the footprint of the project and provide the most power production per square foot available.

“During the planning stage of the Eagle Springs Solar Farm, seven designs were developed to compare various modules and racking systems before settling on a final design” said Aaron Garret, project manager for Eagle Springs. “The combination of the Solar FlexRack and ASP 390 Watt modules provides superior technology, performance and value compared to anything else on the market today.”

In contrast to competing systems, whose racks require a six-man crew and 30 minutes or more to erect, a Solar FlexRack can be erected by a three-man crew in less than five minutes.

This makes significantly accelerated construction times and dramatic savings on labor costs possible for any solar installation — an estimated $500,000+ savings per 10MW project. Thus, when the Solar FlexRack is specified in an RFP, the total bid could be as much as 40 percent lower for construction.

To date, Solar FlexRacks have been used in North American solar projects totaling over 240 mW.

More information about the Solar FlexRack can be found at www.solarflexrack.com.

YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO — The patent-pending Solar FlexRack, manufactured by Northern States Metals, will be on display at Booth 7626 at the upcoming Intersolar North America trade show. The event will take place July 11–14 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Those who stop by the booth will be able to see a full-size Solar FlexRack (1×2 configuration) in operation. They’ll also be able to learn about the many new features of the next generation of Solar FlexRacks, along with new options such as the SmartClip and SmartGround, which will further enhance the convenience and speed of installation of the most innovative photovoltaic rack mounting solution on the market today.

The product’s unique, pre-assembled unfolding design means each rack can be installed by a three-man crew in 3 minutes or less. Solar FlexRack’s nearest competitor touts an installation time of 45 minutes with a six-man crew.

The result: significantly accelerated construction times and dramatic savings on labor costs — an estimated $500,000+ savings per 10MW project. Thus, when the Solar FlexRack is specified in an RFP, the total bid could be as much as 40 percent lower for construction.
Intersolar North America, the premier solar industry exhibition and conference in North America for solar professionals to exchange information and develop business opportunities in the U.S. solar market, will feature solar products and cutting-edge technologies from around 800 exhibitors. Registered visitors representing 62 countries and exhibiting companies from 30 countries will be in attendance.

More information about the Solar FlexRack can be found at www.solarflexrack.com. You can also calculate the labor savings you may realize on your current or prospective project by going to http://www.solarflexrack.com/savings-calculator.html and entering in the expected number of units needed.