Sollega Introduces FastRack 510 — New Lightweight Roof-Mount Solution

July 2nd, 2014 by James Ayre

One of the country’s leading manufacturers of commercial flat-roof PV solar racking systems, Sollega, recently unveiled its newest offering in that field — the FastRack510, a new light-weight, ballasted, hybrid roof-mount solution.

The new system was created in partnership with BASF — one of the biggest global suppliers of plastics. The new FastRack510 system is manufactured with BASF’s advanced plastic, Ultramid® — and was engineered specifically to weather extreme rooftop conditions, while remaining relatively lightweight. The FR510’s light and streamlined design is intended to help reduce project costs.

The press release provides the reasons for the creation of the FR510:

As equipment costs for solar projects fall, soft costs play a more prominent role in determining solar system prices. According to a recent National Renewable Energy Laboratory study, soft costs are now the largest component of commercial solar project pricing, primarily driven by labor and supply chain costs. The lightweight, one-piece, stackable design simplifies project logistics by keeping part counts low and enabling 500kW of racking materials to fit in a standard 40-foot-long shipping container. The new FR510 is an improvement over the proven FastRack FR5 by reducing weight and increasing fire resistance while maintaining the simple design.

“Commercial installers are very focused on soft costs so we designed the FR510 to simplify the installation process and meet strict new codes and flammability standards like UL 2703,” explained Elie Rothschild, CEO of Sollega. “The FR510 significantly cuts down installation costs and time with its universal one-piece, stackable design. It arrives at the project site fully assembled and accommodates all commercial PV modules at 5 or 10 degree tilt angles.”

We’ve been covering the relatively high soft costs of solar (compared to Germany and Australia, for example) for a long time. As solar module costs come down, these soft costs become more and more significant (relatively speaking).

The DOE SunShot Initiative has been trying to help lower these costs by supporting companies aimed at doing so. It’s nice to see so many manufacturers and entrepreneurs jumping in to make this happen.









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