US-12620929-B2 - Solar tracker foundations

US12620929B2US 12620929 B2US12620929 B2US 12620929B2US-12620929-B2

Abstract

A method for installing one or more solar module A-frame supports includes: creating a bore extending a depth below a ground surface, placing a temporary support jig adjacent the bore, inserting a leg of a solar module A-frame support into the bore such that a portion of the leg of the solar module A-frame support is within the bore and a portion of the leg of the solar module A-frame support contacts the temporary support jig, when the portion of the leg of the solar module A-frame support is within the bore and the portion of the leg of the solar module A-frame support contacts the temporary support jig, pouring concrete into the bore, and, after pouring concrete into the bore, removing the temporary support jig from contact with the leg of the solar module A-frame support.

Inventors

Abhimanyu Anil Sable
Raghavendra Praveen Maddulapalli

Assignees

NEXTPOWER LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20231130

Claims (14)

1 . A method for installing one or more solar module A-frame supports comprising: creating a bore extending a depth below a ground surface; placing a temporary support jig adjacent the bore, the temporary support jig comprising a first jig leg, a second jig leg, and a leg receiving opening that intersects a longitudinal axis of the first jig leg and a longitudinal axis of the second jig leg, wherein the temporary support jig is placed adjacent the bore such that the leg receiving opening is axially aligned with the bore; inserting a leg of a solar module A-frame support into the bore such that a portion of the leg of the solar module A-frame support is within the bore and a portion of the leg of the solar module A-frame support directly contacts the temporary support jig; when the portion of the leg of the solar module A-frame support is within the bore and the portion of the leg of the solar module A-frame support directly contacts the temporary support jig, pouring concrete into the bore; and after pouring concrete into the bore, removing the temporary support jig from direct contact with the leg of the solar module A-frame support.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the temporary support jig is placed at the ground surface and above the bore.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the first jig leg is placed at the ground surface above the bore at a first side of the bore and the second jig leg is placed at the ground surface above the bore at a second side of the bore different than the first side of the bore.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the leg of the solar module A-frame support is inserted into the bore such that the portion of the leg of the solar module A-frame support directly contacts the temporary support jig at the leg receiving opening between the first jig leg and the second jig leg.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein, when the temporary support jig is placed at the ground surface and above the bore, the first jig leg and the second jig leg contact the ground surface and the leg receiving opening, defined between the first jig leg and the second jig leg, is above the ground surface and axially aligned with the bore such that a vertical axis, relative to ground, extends through the leg of the solar module A-frame support and through the leg receiving opening.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the temporary support jig is removed from direct contact with the leg of the solar module A-frame support after the concrete poured into the bore has cured.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the leg of the solar module A-frame support is inserted into the bore such that the portion of the leg of the solar module A-frame support within the bore extends within the bore along an axis perpendicular to the ground surface.
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the portion of the leg of the solar module A-frame support within the bore is integral with the portion of the leg of the solar module A-frame support that contacts the temporary support jig.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the bore is created to extend the depth below the ground surface such that a first portion of the bore at a first depth below the ground surface has a first bore width and a second portion of the bore at a second depth, different than the first depth, below the ground surface has a second bore width different than the first bore width.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the second depth is further below the ground surface than the first depth, and wherein the second bore width is greater than the first bore width.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the bore is a first bore, the temporary support jig is a first temporary support jig, and the leg of the solar module A-frame support is a first leg of the solar module A-frame support, and further comprising: creating a second bore extending a depth below the ground surface; placing a second temporary support jig adjacent the second bore; inserting a second leg of the solar module A-frame support into the second bore such that a portion of the second leg of the solar module A-frame support is within the second bore and a portion of the second leg of the solar module A-frame support contacts the second temporary support jig; when the portion of the second leg of the solar module A-frame support is within the second bore and the portion of the second leg of the solar module A-frame support contacts the second temporary support jig, pouring concrete into the second bore; and after pouring concrete into the second bore, removing the second temporary support jig from contact with the second leg of the solar module A-frame support.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the first bore and the second bore are created simultaneously.
13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the bore created to extend the depth below the ground surface has a volume equal to or less than 0.15 cubic meters, and wherein a volume of the concrete poured into the bore is equal to or less than 0.15 cubic meters.
14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the temporary support jig comprises a first jig leg and a second jig leg, and wherein the first jig leg and the second leg are a same length.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates generally to device, system, and method embodiments for solar tracker foundations. Certain such embodiments disclosed herein relate to concrete foundations for solar tracker A-frame supports. BACKGROUND Solar panels can convert sunlight into energy. As an example, solar thermal panels often convert electromagnetic radiation from the sun into thermal energy for heating homes, running certain industrial processes, or driving high grade turbines to generate electricity. As another example, solar photovoltaic panels convert sunlight directly into electricity for a variety of applications. Solar panels are generally composed of an array of solar cells, which are interconnected to each other. The cells are often arranged in series and/or parallel groups of cells in series. Accordingly, solar panels have great potential to benefit our nation, security, and human users. They can even diversify our energy requirements and reduce the world's dependence on oil and other potentially detrimental sources of energy. Solar tracking systems can be used to dynamically orient a plurality of solar modules, for instance, by moving the solar modules throughout the course of a given day to track the movement of the sun and thereby increase the efficiency and productivity of the solar modules. However, because solar tracking systems apply motive force to move the solar modules, resulting forces can be imparted on the piles that support the movable solar modules. In addition, the solar modules can experience natural forces in the field, such as wind loads, which can create additional acting forces on the piles that support the movable solar modules. SUMMARY This disclosure in general describes embodiments of devices, systems, and methods relating to solar tracker foundations. Certain such embodiments disclosed herein relate to concrete foundations for solar tracker A-frame supports. Such embodiments disclosed herein can be configured to facilitate improved structural stability for solar tracking systems. In addition, embodiments disclosed herein can improve solar tracking system structural stability while increasing the efficiency of solar tracking foundation installation and reducing costs (e.g., foundation and/or support material costs) associated with solar tracker foundations and supports. As one example, certain embodiments disclosed herein may reduce solar module support (e.g., solar module A-frame support) material costs by up to 50% while yet at the same time provide increased structural stability for solar tracking systems by installing a more structurally robust foundation. Indeed, in some examples, certain solar module support (e.g., solar module A-frame support) features and certain foundation features can be synergistically complementary to achieve such benefits. One embodiment includes a method for installing one or more solar module A-frame supports. This method embodiment includes creating a bore extending a depth below a ground surface; placing a temporary support jig adjacent the bore; inserting a leg of a solar module A-frame support into the bore such that a portion of the leg of the solar module A-frame support is within the bore and a portion of the leg of the solar module A-frame support contacts the temporary support jig; when the portion of the leg of the solar module A-frame support is within the bore and the portion of the leg of the solar module A-frame support contacts the temporary support jig, pouring concrete into the bore; and after pouring concrete into the bore, removing the temporary support jig from contact with the leg of the solar module A-frame support. According to a further embodiment of this method, the temporary support jig is placed at the ground surface and above the bore. As one example, the temporary support jig includes a first jig leg and a second jig leg, and the first jig leg is placed at the ground surface above the bore at a first side of the bore and the second jig leg is placed at the ground surface above the bore at a second side of the bore different than the first side of the bore. For instance, the temporary support jig can define a leg receiving opening between the first jig leg and the second jig leg, and the leg of the solar module A-frame support is inserted into the bore such that the portion of the leg of the solar module A-frame support contacts the temporary support jig at the leg receiving opening between the first jig leg and the second jig leg. In some such instances, when the temporary support jig is placed at the ground surface and above the bore, the first jig leg and the second jig leg can contact the ground surface. And the leg receiving opening, defined between the first jig leg and the second jig leg, can be above the ground surface and aligned with the bore. According to a further embodiment of this method, the temporary support jig can be removed from contact with the leg of the solar module A-frame support after