Case Study: SunEdison LLC achieves 80% cut in solar mounting costs and 75% faster development with SolidWorks

Generating clean, low-cost solar power worldwide with SolidWorks

SunEdison LLC, a provider of rooftop and ground-mounted solar power for commercial and government customers, needed to cut the high cost of photovoltaic mounting structures to make solar electricity economically competitive. To drive down mounting-structure costs and speed development, the company chose SolidWorks, using SolidWorks Premium for 3D design and structural analysis and SolidWorks Flow Simulation for CFD validation.

Using SolidWorks, SunEdison developed the Delta Rack—a roll‑formed Galvalume steel racking system—iterating quickly with sheet‑metal tools and validating structural and wind loads via simulation. SolidWorks enabled an 80% reduction in mounting-structure cost (from $0.50 to $0.10 per watt), a roughly 75% shorter development cycle, lower wind‑tunnel testing expenses, and improved design communications. SolidWorks’ integrated modeling and simulation capabilities were central to achieving these measurable savings.

SunEdison LLC

Eric Wallgren

Senior Product Design Manager