Stracker Solar – Going Beyond Rooftops
Strackers are elevated dual-axis solar trackers that produce significantly more power than same-sized rooftop or fixed ground-mount systems while maintaining full use of the property below. As a result, Strackers are a perfect photovoltaic (PV) solution for homes and businesses with roofs that have no solar access; for parking lots of any kind; for industrial and agricultural operations; and for open fields and schoolyards. Keeping their powerful large PV arrays pointed directly at the sun throughout the day, Strackers are the most efficient solar energy harvesting systems available.
These robust units, designed and manufactured by Stracker Solar in Ashland, Oregon, are currently the only UL-listed dual-axis PV trackers in the U.S. and are the only ones that qualify for Energy Trust of Oregon incentives. In addition, the all-steel Strackers are certified for 120 mph winds and come with 30-year production and structural warranties. Additional options like pole lighting and EV charging stations are available, and customers can choose from a wide variety of colors for their units.
Strackers Versus Rooftop Solar
A Stracker holds an array of 28 PV panels atop a 20-foot high single pole, making the system look like a giant mechanical sunflower. And just like young sunflowers, the array moves with the sun — something rooftop solar cannot do — assuring maximum energy collection at all times. As a result, Strackers produce up to 70% more solar power than an equivalent-sized fixed rooftop installation.
Strackers Versus Other Ground-Mount Solar Systems
Compared to traditional ground-mount solutions that sit low to the ground and require that the owner dedicate a specific area to solar power generation, often with fencing all around, Strackers’ 14-foot ground clearance allows the continued use of the grounds below. This clearance makes them ideal for farms, playgrounds, yards, and parking lot applications. Not just people and cars, but even tractors, semis, and firetrucks can pass easily under the Stracker array. Beyond the ground usage benefit, Strackers also provide up to 70% more solar power than same-sized fixed ground-mount systems and up to 30% more power than single-axis solar trackers.
While Strackers do require a minimum of maintenance, such as annual greasing, it can be done by the owner or through Strackers’ maintenance services; and snow removal is not an issue. Snow does not remain on Strackers as it does on fixed systems since the tracking movement of the array naturally sheds snow in its most vertical position, which occurs twice a day. If additional snow shedding is needed, a press of a button brings the array into a full-tilt position at any time.
Where Strackers Excel
Strackers excel where rooftop solar is not feasible or wouldn’t provide the desired amount of electricity and do so without compromising the usage of the property. Commercial, industrial, governmental, and residential customers, as well as community solar developers, who have sites where land use and maximum solar generation are important, will find Strackers the most suitable solution.
Even when a home or building has an excellent solar orientation, Strackers may still be a good choice if:
- Net zero is the goal, but the customer doesn’t have enough roof area to achieve that.
- The customer prefers not to deal with any needed upfront roof preparation and has concerns about future leaks or having to remove the system for future re-roofing.
- The condition of the roof doesn’t allow solar installation, or roof replacement would be due during the lifetime of the solar installation.
- The customer prefers not to have electric equipment installed on their roof with its potential fire hazard, even though the risk is slight.
Parking Lots
Parking lots are a natural fit for Strackers. Traditionally carport systems have been the chosen PV solution for parking areas, but due to their fixed nature, they lack harvest efficiency, one of Strackers’ key benefits. Instead of closing in parking lots with stationary carport systems, several stand-alone Strackers can meet customers’ energy needs while minimally affecting property use and aesthetics. In addition, Strackers come fully ready for Level 1, 2, or 3 EV charging stations. As a result, auto dealerships can power their operations and charge their electric vehicles without hiding their cars on display under carport solar installations.
That’s why Ashland’s TC Chevrolet chose Strackers as their solar power generating system, which they will install later this spring. The elegant lot display lighting the units provide with their state-of-the-art LED lights will be a bonus.
Agricultural Applications
For farms with crops or livestock, Strackers can be installed without interfering with agricultural operations. Strackers offer customers the opportunity to either produce solar power for their facilities without compromising the use of their land or generate additional income by participating in a community solar program and selling the electricity to participating members.
Cost-Effectiveness
Strackers’ patent-pending drive core, all-steel structure, fail-safe control system, accurate GPS validated 220-degree tracking range, and optimal bifacial capability make them one of the highest quality products available. They combine the best of solar with high-quality state-of-the-art engineering.
Yet the cost difference per installed kWh between a Stracker solar installation and a rooftop solar one is usually minimal. For example, in recent competitively bid Southern Oregon projects, Strackers came out as the solar solution with the lowest cost per kWh compared with local residential rooftop systems. However, every project is site-specific, and it’s often difficult to define the cost difference between installations in different markets. For example, in Ashland, Oregon, residential rooftop solar prices might be much higher than residential or commercial prices in Austin, Texas. So Stracker Solar develops site-specific cost and energy production analyses for each project that allows customers to compare the cost-effectiveness of Strackers with other PV solutions.
Net Zero with Strackers
Homeowners and businesses with poor solar orientation or lack of sufficient roof space often have difficulty achieving net zero energy. This is where Strackers come in. Their sales team discusses the option of net zero energy with every potential customer, and those who haven’t originally identified it as their goal are usually very receptive to choosing that path. As a result, Stracker Solar has helped many customers successfully meet their net zero energy goals while competitive solutions fell short for both power production and cost-efficiency. Of the Stracker installations to date, there are seven net zero residences, a net zero dental facility, and an off-grid ranch fully powered by Strackers. Also, seven vacation rental cottages and an office have become net zero thanks to a 6-Stracker community solar installation.
The Stracker Vision
Stracker Solar is a growing start-up on a mission: to provide the most efficient solar solutions that allow homes and businesses to get on the net zero path and enable communities to maximize their solar production via land-use preserving community solar installations. To make Strackers available beyond their current service area, they are planning a targeted national expansion in the second half of 2022 through licensing of prequalified welding facilities in several promising markets, combined with a certification program for area PV installers. The expansion plan will be supported by targeted marketing campaigns and direct partner outreach.
Strackers Solar has an excellent opportunity to make a difference for many homeowners, businesses, and communities looking to go solar who have inadequate roofs or no land to give up. Working with local solar installers, Stracker Solar can provide efficient solar solutions that best utilize available spaces and resources and make solar available to those for whom it otherwise would not be feasible.
By Joe Emerson, Founder of the Zero Energy Project.
Based on an interview with Jeff Sharpe, Founder of Stracker Solar, who welcomes inquiries from solar installers interested in becoming Strackers resellers.
Compared to its successful contemporaries, the refurbishments of Cumbernauld Town Centre were not critical enough for it to catch up with nowadays standards, either functionally or aesthetically. As one of a few megastructures ever built, is there a historical argument to be made for restoring this rare building? After all, the Cumbernauld Town Centre represents more than just brutalist aesthetics; it is a concrete implementation of innovative urban design concepts from the post-war period. (This is not to mention the environmental argument: it is a waste to demolish the massive concrete structure, which consumed a considerable amount of resources to build. One can only hope that it will be recycled into secondary materials.)
“Depicted in this image is my hometown Wuppertal. The world famous Schwebebahn, which was build over one hundred years ago as a result of advancements in steel production and metal fabrication, still remains to awe visitors when it meanders through narrow streets above the river Wupper. Shown here is a speculative redesign of the city in the spirit of the early Schwebebahn designs and its historic “Kaiserwagen”.
“Memories and dreams sometimes go hand in hand. The combination of reality and fantasy is an intrinsic force that supplies the creative portfolio of an artistic mind with endless possibilities. Nevertheless, even with all the infinite pieces put together sometimes one can’t help but look into triggers of certain spaces that take you back into specific moments of life. This particular studio is a combination of said moments in time; clutter in respective areas, materiality, scale, objects and the conglomeration of mechanical pieces grounds the imagery, which brings a sense of character that many people resonate with. It’s a sense of remembering a space that does not exist. A remembrance.”
“On December 21, 1848, a white plantation owner, traveling with his enslaved servant, passed through the Central of Georgia Railroad terminal in Savannah, seeking medical care in Boston.
“The First Settlement on Mars.
“Located near a highway between two major cities in the north of Mexico, Monterrey and Saltillo, the site generates from the hillside of the mountain chain. A ring with an inner radius of 47m, a section of 18m and an outer radius of 65m. Embedded in the ground giving the appearance of rising or detaching from it. The intention of the project is to guide the farewell process of a loved one through the natural and architectural environment. HALO Funeral Center stands out for its morphology and relationship with the context that generates a farewell process for both the bereaved and the deceased. In this way achieving a liberation and a healthy duel.”
“People is what gives architecture life. With all their different lights and colors, they make the spaces alive. When designing a façade, a lot of effort is put into the relation with the exterior environment. With this rendering I wanted to focus on the role that the interior spaces play in a façade. Each of these windows have a story to tell, a feeling to show, a thought going on.
“A boundless generative study for a spatial understanding of an infinite archive dedicated to letters and stamps in the context of Campo Marzio. Inspired by “The Library of Babel” by Jorge Luis Borgestry, the drawing tries to incorporate the idea of sauntering and browsing through ramps. It explores the layers beneath the Campo Marzio in relation to the accumulation of historical letters and records. This is a result of moving upward and downward into the layers of Campo Marzio imagined by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720- 1778).”
“Overlooking the sky, the water,the mountains and the small houses, they form a long picture that is deeply touching. The combination of a long time and strong strength reveals a solemn scene and makes people linger and forget to return. I suddenly had a strong desire and shouted at the mountain opposite. Bursts of pleasant echoes reverberated in my young heart, and my heart suddenly gushed a kind of magnanimity I had never had before. I felt that I had melted into the mountain.”
“The illustration explores a future in which architectural forms grasp to reach beyond Earth’s gravity. Density and population lead some to choose a nomadic life-style, free to roam the open plains below…”
“What are memories if not frozen fragments of time?
“Faced with the cruel reality everybody witnessed on TV in 2021, we were moved and felt responsible to act.
“Churches are sacred spaces where people unite spiritually with a higher power. We enter churches when faced by pure and meaningful emotions like true love. Churches are therefore unique types of architecture where humans can express their deepest feelings through prayers influencing their psychology, philosophy and lifestyle. Love at first sight usually culminates in a church during the wedding ceremony.
“The sun is warming the air as the market is closing now. My shirt is already sticking to my skin. They advised to avoid going out, but I feel good, I’m only coughing. Uncle Alisha is saying he got sick because it’s not air anymore, he says that before we used to see the sky and it was blue. But I don’t know; maybe he’s just getting old, he’s already 37. The Stack is constantly growing as new people are moving in. Are they coming from Above?”
“Cheese factory. A place that is sure to please guests, especially fans of healthy eating preservation of national traditions, local cuisine. The landscapes there are also quite beautiful – the peaks of the Carpathians are clearly visible. Shepherds work here from spring to autumn. During this time, many sheep can be seen on the slopes. Various cheeses, Budz, Bryndza, Vurda are prepared on the fire. You can see with your own eyes a difficult but pleasant process, the preparation of Hutsul cheeses.
“I dreamed of a circle room with countless thin arkd who fall in the center. At first, I tried to make a subtile natural light like a overcast sky. I worked shaders of walls and arks with dressed stone for remind stuctures like abbayes and churchs. After that I really wanted to make a old dark wood floor with a lot of wear but in the same time I want to make it elegant with strong reflections. I choose a dark Floor because this helped me contrast the image, the room is globally dark except for the center of the image. I placed a tree with a soft shape to stay close to the arks shape. After that I added few artificial lights with warm color to have more reflections on the floor. I tried to make a place which is perceived like sacred and silent.”
“My story depicts a dystopia that is mostly driven by the cold and insensitive brutalism of Orwell’s 1984 novel and the post-soviet era in Middle-Eastern Europe. These types of buildings are called “panel houses” in Hungary, which means houses made of reinforced concrete blocks. Most of these were built right after World War II, when suddenly many people had to be accommodated.
“Day 1947
“This is the story of an old industrial building with a new form of life. One idea was popping in my mind to take the most industrial function and to make it not only a practical source of energy, but also architecturally and publicly friendly. Looking over different dams around the world I realized that’s the perfect ground for the imagination. Brutalist aesthetics, and the almost military look of the dams, made me overthink their use.
“Growing up in urban South-East Asia, I’ve found there’s nothing in comparison to the chaotically beautiful sensory overload.
“The project is an anti-surveillance monastery in the mountains of China named the ‘Blind Spot’. Located more specifically in Fengdu ghost city, Chongqing, the Blind Spot is a retreat/sanctuary where you can escape the pressures of a heavily surveilled society. It is temporary living off the grid and houses sleeping chambers, meditation rooms, learning centres, and is influenced by the design of Buddhist monasteries.
“Saigon has evolved from the ’70s-nowhere else in Vietnam can one experience the quickly changing cultural and economic shift that takes place before our eyes. The 10+ million inhabitants seem to be constantly moving…Locals and foreigners, looks, sounds, smells, tastes all mix, and create something so eclectic and excitingly new that is impossible to capture in words. The city’s constantly buzzing. Moving. People yearn to break the shackles of the past, the shackles of society’s expectations. Poverty, traditional values, and collectivism are quickly shifting to consumerism and individualism.
“We heard the thump of music. A door swung open, LED lights bleeding into the night. The space was packed but it felt familiar, like being reunited for the first time with people you didn’t really know. Some whose first names you know but whose numbers are not in your phone. You have no idea what they do for a living, or where they are from, or how old they are. You see them on the dance floor, where you have been hanging out for years.
“City life can be vibrant, diverse, and dynamic. But it can also be crowded, polluted, and noisy; It is overstimulating which can make people feel stressed and overwhelmed. So the question is what’s the antidote to modern life stress? That is why we in the DD Studio decided to design a cabin in the woods in our style with minimum interference with nature as a building and maximum view. In this image, we are trying to show the communication between nature and humans and how the cabin sits in context.”
“Along the Passaic River from Port Newark through Jersey Turnpike, air pollution caused by toxic factories and transportation leads to increased health concerns and affects families’ health and vulnerable communities in Newark and the entire New York Metropolitan area.
“In 2012, Japanese architect Katsuhiro Miyamoto made the extraordinary proposition to erect giant Shrine-style roofs over the ruined reactors of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant after the 2011 nuclear disaster. The conceptual idea of using the roofs to signify the presence of a powerful force on site extends to a workable proposition, based on the Japanese culture where shrines are rebuilt every 20 years to ensure that traditional building techniques are passed on generations. Likewise, the upkeep of the reactors’ decommissioning will extend in centuries, therefore the construction of these roofs is chosen as a form of preservation, to transmit the knowledge of Nuclear Waste management to future generations.
