Bread rises at Sacto bakery with dual-axis solar tracking
United Bakery has opted to bake its iconic sourdough bread and other products with electricity generated on site with Mechatron Solar dual-axis tracker technology that will reduce the electric bill by 83%.
The 13 M18KD-20 Dual-Axis Carport Trackers that began generating energy recently are expected to present a three-year return on investment, notes Michael Fakukakis, CEO of Stockton, California-based Mechatron Solar. Together, the trackers will produce 1,273 MWh of electricity per year.
The footprint of the concrete pillar of the M18KD Mechatron tracker is a mere 10 square feet, minimizing the impact on land use and vehicle movement. The trackers’ single-pillar architecture permits dual-land use capability allowing both the bakery business and solar harvesting off the same plot of land, with potential for EV charging.
Seeking the highest energy density
Dual-axis trackers present the highest energy density of all solar industry mounting designs, among which the Mechatron M18KD is the largest, supporting up to 90 panels. A power generation boost to the system takes place with the use of bifacial solar panels, which provide a double-digit increase over standard monofacial panels of the same size and number, thanks to the elevation of the tracker panel table, with a trailing edge at 14 feet.
One key to the adoption of the dual-axis technology from Mechatron was the 30% federal tax credit, now expired. “Even without the federal tax credit, our trackers make overwhelming financial sense and pay for themselves within just a few years,” says Ted Ronshausen, commercial director of the company.
Mechatron has continued to consolidate its global sourcing network to concentrate on competitive U.S. suppliers. “We manufacture the M18KD at our Stockton factory in northern California and are proud to be able to say our trackers are Made in America, per 2022 U.S. Treasury IRA Domestic Content Bonus Credit specifications.”
M18KD Dual-Axis Tracker offers reliability
Apart from providing the highest energy yield in the solar industry, the Mechatron trackers are also extremely reliable, Fakukakis points out. “Mechatron Solar trackers present the highest reliability in the industry with 99.6% up-time demonstrated across our installed fleet of 90 MW of projects in Europe and North America over the past 15 years, he says.
The unusually high-yield M18KD tracker generates 40% more energy than ground-mounted solar arrays and 20% more than single-axis arrays. With a single mast the tracker also has the smallest ground footprint in the global solar market, ideal for vineyards, carports and other terrain-constrained sites.
Each M18KD tracker supports 72 large format 600 W solar panels yield 42.2 kWdc on a single mast. With a ground coverage ratio of up to 50%, the M18KD solution requires only 4 acres per MW of array.
The gearless, hydraulic design drives more through 360 degrees of Azimuth rotation and 60 degrees of Zenith inclination. Highly weather-resistant, the M18KD tracker withstands wind gusts of up to 115 mph. The M18KD also withstands snow loads of nearly 35 psf, although snow loads typically are shed using automated snow sensors and motion management software.
Using bifacial solar panels, the Mechatron Solar tracker has demonstrated an energy yield boost ranging from 13% in California to 24% in Saskatchewan. The dual-axis M18KD tracker captures more reflected light on the underside of the solar panels than lower fixed-mount and single-axis trackers. It also captures more light than smaller dual-axis trackers that have lower tables.
Mechatron Solar has completed a Black & Veatch Bankability Report, as well as UL 3703 certification standard evaluation by Solar PTL. The company’s expanded manufacturing facility now has an annual production capacity of 200 MW of trackers
