Bifacial solar site enhancer Terra Pave Albedo is an American-Made Solar Prize finalist

Terra Pave Albedo, made available via Beckett Solar Energy, (something we reported on here), was named a finalist in the AMERICAN-MADE SOLAR PRIZE competition from NREL, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Department of Energy.

Each of the Finalist teams was awarded between $50,000 and $100,000 to be invested in further testing. Eco-Estates International (the collaborator with University of Texas Technology Commercialized Company Terra Pave International), received $100,000 to promote the Terra Pave products.

The next level of testing of Terra Pave products has already begun at the globally recognized SANDIA National Laboratories, USA Department of Energy and at NREL, the National Renewable Energy Laboratories, USA Department of Energy.

The Terra Pave pitch

In use for 4 years in the United States, two years in Central and South America, one year in Africa, and only recently in Asia, the use of Terra Pave in the past was on roads, car parks, and military paths. Solar, though, is a new application for Terra Pave Albedo. However, as proposed in the AMERICAN-MADE SOLAR PRIZE entry, Terra Pave Albedo has shown potential to significantly reduce the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for solar installations by increasing the MW output and predictability of bifacial solar panels.

Predicting the power output of bifacial panels to create accurate revenue models has always been challenging because it’s dependent upon the ground substrate behind the modules. With its white-as-snow color, Terra Pave Albedo provides a surface with a consistently high reflective albedo equal to that of 0.81, 365 days per year. That enables easier financial modeling, accurate engineering design, and accurate prediction output/revenue for bifacial panels.

Without Terra Pave Albedo, the natural ground has an albedo of 5-25%. With Terra Pave Albedo, which equals albedo of snow, the bifacial power increase could be up to 30% (depending upon the type of panel used).

The nature of environmentally friendly Terra Pave Albedo eliminates the need for labor-intensive, repeat applications of weed killers, and climate wrecking concrete and petroleum-based asphalt road construction that comes with the generation of toxic fumes and high costs.

Terra Pave products enable the creation of cost-effective, eco-friendly access roads.

The American-Made Solar Prize

The American-Made Solar Prize’s mission is to energize U.S. solar manufacturing by furthering innovative solutions that can potentially shape the future of solar. The competition is designed to strengthen and scale the very best ideas and teams from around the country through three progressive prize competitions.

The American-Made Solar Prize offers competitors $3 million in cash prizes and other resources they need to develop transformative technology ideas into concepts and then into early-stage prototypes ready for industry testing. Terra Pave has advanced to the final competition.

— Solar Builder magazine

[source: https://solarbuildermag.com/products/bifacial-solar-site-enhancer-terra-pave-albedo-is-an-american-made-solar-prize-finalist/]