The Movement to High Gain Solar

As the solar industry matures customers value energy yield and cost more than peak “nameplate” rating.  High Gain Solar (HGS) describes a series of system level design attributes which drive lower installed cost and higher energy yield relative to traditional fixed tilt PV. 

The movement to HGS started with the adoption of high efficiency silicon cells and tracking which increases energy yield and now includes reflective materials, lower cost panels, convection cooling, string & shadow management, streamlined installation and maintenance.  Systems which combine one or more of these attributes are considered to be high gain.

Skyline’s Approach

Building on proven solar technology, Skyline’s patented HGS architecture provides the energy cost of thin film with the performance and reliability of leading silicon PV. The architecture is also engineered for scalability, drawing on proven materials and traditional manufacturing processes available on a vast scale.

High Gain Solar Arrays
Each HGS array consists of two main components: a Reflective Rack with integrated tracking, and four rows of High Gain Solar Panels along its edges. HGS Arrays are mechanically coupled together into long columns with adjacent units sharing mounting and tracking hardware. Multiple columns are installed side by side to create large solar fields. HGS arrays are manufactured using industry-standard materials proven through years of field experience.

High Gain Solar Panels
HGS Panels are similar to—but much smaller than—traditional silicon panels. Panels are oriented vertically along the edges of the Reflective Rack and contain a metal heat sink which enables efficient convection cooling with natural airflow. This allows cells to operate at lower temperatures for greater efficiency. HGS panels include a quick-connect feature for rapid installation onto the Reflective Racks and easy maintenance.

Reflective Rack
The Reflective Rack provides structural support for the overall array.  It also collects light from a large aperture and concentrates it onto the HGS Panels. The rack’s highly reflective top surface is covered with a thin durable metallic coating encased in oxide layers that ensures high durability. This top surface combined with set of prefabricated struts and ribs underneath forms a long stiff and lightweight space frame similar to structures used in the automotive and aircraft industries.

The elegant simplicity of Skyline’s HGS architecture leads to low installed cost, high energy yield and exceptional scalability. More information on the advantages of HGS is available here.

To learn more details about HGS architecture, download the High Gain Solar Introduction whitepaper.

"We were impressed by Skyline's total system approach which packages many high gain solar design elements into an elegant array."

Martha Symko-Davies
Research Senior Supervisor
NREL