When someone describes how much of a solar power plant site is covered with photovoltaic modules, the term “under glass” is often used. The reason for this is obvious: the first thing you notice about the panels is the flat piece of thin glass, about eight square feet in size, that makes up the front of the energy-generating device. The image created by thousands or even millions of modules stretching as far as the eye can see across a utility-scale site resembles nothing less than a sea of glass.

Q: First Solar recently created a local operating subsidiary in Thailand. Is that market ready to take off?

Before the first post is pounded into the desert floor, let alone the first solar module is installed, every inch of a solar power plant site must be surveyed. A properly conducted survey plays a critical role in the design process for these massive construction jobs, optimizing the layout of solar arrays and minimizing the amount of dirt that must be bladed and moved before the steel support systems can be deployed. Some of the largest sites can extend for several miles, making the task even more daunting.

First Solar’s hot climate white paper titled “Performance Characterization and Superior Energy Yield of First Solar PV Power Plants in High-Temperature Conditions” has been published in the 17th edition of Photovoltaics International, a leading industry trade journal. The paper was written by First Solar’s Nick Strevel, Lou Trippel, and Markus Gloeckler and substantiates First Solar’s superior energy yield advantage in high temperature climates. The paper covers detailed performance characterization data including temperature coefficient, initial stabilization, module rating process, and long-term degradation and explains the fundamentals of high-temperature operation that influence energy output, module efficiency, and module reliability over the power plant’s life.