The facility, dubbed the Southeastern Solar Research Center (SSRC), will be located on the campus of Southern Research Institute in Birmingham, Alabama.
The center will undertake several research efforts with initial focus on an Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) project, which intends to study solar PV system orientation, tracking and aging.
The SSRC features various configurations of photovoltaic solar panel arrays, microinverters and an advanced energy-monitoring system.
It also includes trackers that follow the sun throughout the day and southwest-facing solar PV systems that will calculate the use of afternoon sun, when energy utilistaion is generally higher.
The center is searching for participants to identify technologies in the climatic region.
Southern Research Institute vice president of engineering Michael Johns said the new facility will speed up solar photovoltaic research and provide data that could assist utilities in the optimal design of solar PV systems.
"A number of utilities, including Southern Company and its subsidiary Alabama Power are interested in evaluating the performance and operating characteristics of different configurations for solar PV systems," Johns added.
"The SSRC may provide key insights into their performance in the high heat, high humidity, high precipitation and high pollen environment typical of this area of the country."
Image: The Southeastern Solar Research Center will study the performance of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. Photo: Courtesy of Serge Bertasius Photography/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
