By Renewable Energy Focus staff

The combination of the products is expected to eliminate the use of bulky mounting rails and separate grounding hardware, reducing parts count and hardware costs as well as allowing reductions in design, labour, and logistics costs.

According to Trina Solar,  the solution has the potential to deliver significant reductions to total system costs, and will become "one of the quickest ways to install PV arrays for residential and commercial roof applications". Trina wants to incorporate the Zep Groove into Trina Solar module design starting in the third quarter of 2011. Zep Solar licenses its innovative, grooved frame to PV module companies (such as Trina), and manufactures Zep Compatible installation hardware that mates quickly, safely, and cost-effectively with Zep Compatible PV modules.

Trina Solar's Zep Compatible PV modules and Zep Solar's proprietary installation hardware are also expected to eliminate the use of bulky mounting rails and separate grounding hardware, which the company's claim will reduce parts count and hardware costs as well as allowing reductions in design, labour, and logistics costs.

Trina Solar plans to sell its new Zep Compatible PV modules, along with Zep Solar's recently updated and expanded Zep System II hardware. The first of these hardware systems is expected to be introduced to the North American, European and Australian markets starting in the third quarter of 2011. And the companies say they plan to further cooperate in the development of new technologies and tools to deliver other innovative solutions to the PV marketplace.

Trina Solar are the latest in a line of other module manufacturers using Zep's Groove frame geometry technology. Other manufacturers include Canadian Solar, CentroSolar and Upsolar.