Supporting structure for an open-space photovoltaic system

Abstract

A supporting structure for an open-space photovoltaic system with several ground supports arranged in at least two mutually parallel rows oriented in essentially North-South direction and installed vertically in the ground, with beams supported on free ends of the ground supports located at the same location along a row, and with module rails attached to the beams for attachment of fastening means for photovoltaic modules. The module rails are secured on or between two corresponding adjacent beams in essentially North-South direction. The free ends of the ground supports are positioned at the same height above terrain ground, so that the beams and the module rails extend essentially plane-parallel to the terrain ground. This arrangement reduces material consumption, and only a small surface area of the supporting structure is effectively exposed to wind gusts. Each row of ground supports includes ground supports with both rigid and flexible flexural characteristics.

1 . A supporting structure for an open-space photovoltaic system, comprising:
 a plurality of at least four vertical ground supports arranged in parallel aligned rows and having defined positions along a row, each vertical ground support having two ends, with a first end installed in the ground,   a plurality of beams supported on a second end and positioned at an identical height above terrain ground, with each beam installed on or between ground supports located at identical row positions along the rows, and   at least one module rail secured on or between adjacent beams and configured for attachment of fastening means adapted to receive photovoltaic modules,   wherein the plurality of beams and the at least one module rail extend essentially plane-parallel to the terrain ground,   wherein each row of ground supports comprises ground supports with a comparatively rigid flexural characteristic located at identical positions in the rows, and   wherein at least two comparatively flexible intermediate ground supports are located between two consecutive arranged ground supports having the rigid flexural characteristic.   
     
     
         2 . The supporting structure of  claim 1 , wherein the photovoltaic modules are mounted on the module rails with an angle of inclination between about 2° and about 20°. 
     
     
         3 . The supporting structure of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of a ground support, a beam, a module rail or a fastening means is made of an electrically insulating material. 
     
     
         4 . The supporting structure of  claim 1 , wherein the different flexural characteristics are based on cross sections of the ground supports. 
     
     
         5 . The supporting structure of  claim 4 , wherein the ground supports comprise round pipes having different diameters, wherein the rigid ground supports have a larger diameter than the flexible ground supports. 
     
     
         6 . The supporting structure of  claim 4 , wherein the ground support is an IPE or a wide-flanged-I-beam, which can be installed longitudinally or transversely, depending on a desired bending direction. 
     
     
         7 . The supporting structure of  claim 6 , characterized in that a rigid bending direction of the intermediate ground supports is oriented in an E-W direction, while the rigid bending direction of all other ground supports, excluding the intermediate ground supports, is in an N-S direction. 
     
     
         8 . The supporting structure of  claim 1 , wherein the modular rails are bands or cables having ready-made lengths with ends, the modular rails comprising a spring disposed on at least one of their ends. 
     
     
         9 . The supporting structure of  claim 8 , wherein several module rails are joined with one another via the spring. 
     
     
         10 . The supporting structure of  claim 9 , wherein several module rails are joined with one another via an isolator. 
     
     
         11 . The supporting structure of  claim 1 , wherein the ground supports are arranged in a grid pattern and the module rails include openings configured for attachment to the beams. 
     
     
         12 . The supporting structure of  claim 8 , wherein the module rail comprises a flat metal band and the spring is implemented as a corrugated section disposed on at least one of the ends of the flat metal band. 
     
     
         13 . The supporting structure of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of ground supports is aligned in rows oriented substantially in the North-South direction, wherein the plurality of beams is aligned substantially in the East-West direction, and wherein the at least one module rail is aligned substantially in the North-South direction. 
     
     
         14 . The supporting structure according of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of beams is located at a height of 0.5 m to 1.5 m above the terrain ground. 
     
     
         15 . The supporting structure of  claim 1 , comprising at least four module rails arranged in mutually parallel relationship. 
     
     
         16 . A method for installing a supporting structure having the structure of  claim 1 , comprising the steps of:
 securing the at least four vertical ground supports in the ground to form several parallel adjacent rows, with the free ends of the ground supports being located approximately at an identical height above terrain ground,   connecting the plurality of beams to the free ends of those ground supports that are located next to one another at identical row positions along the rows,   tensioning the at least one module rail by affixing one end of the module rail and applying a tensioning force to another end of the module rail, and   attaching the at least one module rail to the plurality of beams under tension.