AE Solar Energy will be attending Solar Power International 2013 to showcase one of its newest inverters, the 3TL three-phase string inverter at Booth #1025.  With this addition to its line of utility-scale inverters, the company offers one of the largest suites of inverter solutions on the market, offering its customers the best possible choice for their various solar project needs. In addition, field applications engineer John Foster will be presenting on advanced power controls as part of the “Integration with Utilities” speaking track on Tuesday, October 22 from 1:35-2:00 PM in Room 403.

AE 3TL, Three-Phase String Inverter

The AE 3TL is AE Solar Energy’s answer to market and customer demand for a distributed inverter that offers the same services and benefits as their central inverters: reliability, high efficiency, and customer support. The AE 3TL can be installed within a solar array, which allows for more flexibility and maximizes available space from a design perspective, making it well-suited for solar projects with unique design and space constraints—such as carports or rooftop-ground-mounts. The AE 3TL is UL-certified, with versatile data monitoring options, and a CEC-rated efficiency of 98 percent.

Key Features and Benefits of the AE 3TL

The product delivers key features to reduce the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) and increase energy harvest, including:

• Lightweight and easy-to-install—reduces shipping and labor costs, and speeds time to system commissioning
• Shortened run-lengths—reduces overall solar PV Balance of System (BoS) costs
• A modular and distributed design—Allows site owners to maximize valuable space on a solar installation. Also provides customers with increased uptime, higher system yields, and precise trouble-shooting and maintenance

The AE 3TL will be on display at the Advanced Energy booth, #1025

Speaking Session

Speaker: John Foster, field applications engineer

Session Title: Advanced Controls Case Studies in Distributed Solar (Session #2965)

Track: Integration with Utilities

Time: Tuesday, October 22, 1:35-2:00 PM

Location: Room 403

Description: As photovoltaic penetration grows, greater demands are being placed on the photovoltaic inverter. This session will show what inverters are capable of, providing case studies illustrating sites where the capabilities have been successfully used. Topics will cover advanced controls capabilities of today’s photovoltaic inverters, the reasons advanced power controls are required by utilities today and the problems they address, presenting several case studies on advanced controls, reactive power, and dynamic curtailment of inverters.

Project Spotlight: VF Outdoor Coalition, Alameda, CA

Thanks to the 856 kW project built at its headquarters in Alameda, CA, VF Outdoor, a subsidiary of VF Corporation, became the first corporate campus in the San Francisco Bay Area to begin generating all of its own electricity. The project incorporates AE 3TL inverters featuring capacity range, 480 Vac/3-phase output and a light and compact design that allows them to be directly mounted to carports to save space.

This project has become the epitome of a distributed PV approach. VF wanted to cost effectively achieve its goal of “Net Zero” energy status with a PV system. Sunlight Electric, the developer of the project, initially faced a number of challenges in accomplishing this goal. The rooftops of the four buildings would not yield the power needed to achieve Net Zero, and VF did not want to lose any parking spaces to carports or ground-mounted inverters. The soil at the site would not support typical pier or spread footings for carports, and the company was only considering carports that would complement the design aesthetic of the San Francisco Bay-front campus.

Sunlight Electric and Shamrock Renewable Energy Services, the general contractor, worked with Schletter to install twelve Park@Sol aluminum carport arrays in the parking lot. Since VF is located on a filled-in wetland with soil unable to support carports’ pier footings, Shamrock Renewable worked around this issue by drilling 30 feet into the ground and pouring concrete pedestals which served as a mount for the carport. The fragmented nature of carport arrays lends itself to distributed inverter design. The string inverters replace traditional DC combiner boxes and provide increased flexibility when laying out the array.

Ultimately, we’re proud to say that AE Solar Energy’s inverters were selected because they are “3-phase, transfomerless, 480v inverters that offer great versatility for commercial projects from 12-1,000 kW. Their light-weight and high efficiency make them the best choice for distributed inverter designs,” according to Rob Erlichman at Sunlight Electric.

Skytron energy, a global leader in monitoring and control solutions for utility-scale renewable energy power plants, will showcase leading-edge services and solutions to ensure power quality and grid stability at SPI in Chicago, Illinois, from 21 – 24 October, at booth 3727.

Pioneering sustainable and efficient energy generation for over 36 years, skytron energy leads the way in controlling and monitoring renewable energy power plants.  Customized installation match the configuration of every individual plant – from precise string current measurements right through to the control room presentation, thus allowing for effective supervision of remote assets.  Compatible with all standard inverters on the market, skytron energy’s system is readily adapted to fit facilities and to expand with them.

„We enable US plant owners and investors to boost their plant efficiencies and yields, so that they achieve a maximum return on their investment,“ says Murad Can, Vice President Global Customer Operations of skytron energy.  “Just this week, we completed a 5.8 MWp PV project in Arizona, providing advanced power control management and monitoring solutions to ensure maximum energy output.”

With 1GW across 127 new installations and an average plant size of 8.1 MW, GTM* ranked skytron energy as the world’s second largest utility-scale monitoring vendor in 2012.  To date, more than 4.5 GWp of solar power generation installed worldwide rely on skytron energy.  A pioneer of sustainable and efficient energy generation, the company developed the first hybrid power system over 20 years ago and builds on a long-standing experience.

skytron energy’s integrated control system for grid stability management can be used for PV, wind, and hybrid power installations.  The power plant controller is designed to master complex power plant architectures comprising various power generation plants that feed into one common point of coupling.  It meets the grid operators’ demand for controlled grid injection at medium and high voltage level and is easily adjusted to different regional and international grid codes.

The company’s leading service portfolio comprises project engineering, installation, commissioning and configuration of the monitoring and control system as well as grid connection, real time control room featuring alarm management, operation & maintenance (O&M), plant management and reporting of the entire power plant. “Our products and solutions optimize power plant performance, reliability, and efficiency,” says Murad Can.

skytron energy’s global services cover the complete value chain from project engineering to PV plant maintenance.  North American customers are served by local experts in the company’s sales and service centre in Plano, Texas, which is focusing on commissioning, operations, maintenance, service, and sales support.

Visit skytron energy at booth #3727 at Solar Power International in Chicago, Illinois, October 21-24, to learn more about the latest monitoring, control, and supervision systems for renewable energy based power plants

At SPI 2013, AEG Power Solutions (AEG PS), a global provider of power electronics for renewable energies, introduces two new members of its broad inverter line for the Americas.

 The Protect PV.500 OD UL and Protect PV.630 OD UL are compact, high efficiency central solar inverters.  They are both UL-certified, and are designed for American utility-scale applications on ground area installations in harsh outdoor environments.  Also new, the TKS-P is a complete turnkey system based around the inverters, designed for utility-scale PV megawatt power plants.  It is connected to the PV array on one side and to the transfer station on the other side, and can be put into operation immediately.

 “The USA, and the Americas more generally, are important markets for AEG Power Solutions, and our Protect PV solar inverters provide UL certifications, superior availability and high efficiency for utility-size PV megawatt installations throughout the region,” says Enrique de la Cruz, President of Americas’ Region at AEG Power Solutions.

 A key feature of the broad Protect PV inverter line is a power stack with advanced measuring and control technology enabling DC input voltages of up to 1000 VDC and peak efficiencies of 98.4%.

 The inverters support a wide operating temperature range of -4˚F to +122˚F, while their light weight (3.638 lbs) and small dimensions (87 x 89 x 36 in) make them easier to transport, install, and service.

 AEG PS’ broad line of compact outdoor units for PV power stations comprises durable, external, weatherproof metal housings and integrated, high-efficiency, solar central inverters.  The highly effective proprietary cooling system provides optimal air circulation within the inverter. The enclosure of double-walled aluminum with a stainless steel plinth can easily be mounted on concrete foundations.

 The turnkey solution TKS-P includes additional components such as transformers and medium-voltage switchgear, and is delivered to the installation site fully equipped and tested.  TKS-P can come in the shape of two Protect PV outdoor inverters and communications equipment integrated on a skid with an outdoor MV transformer and switchgear; or as a walk-in metal shelter, which contains two Protect PV Indoor inverters, communications equipment, and external AC disconnects.  The shelter is built on a skid with an MV transformer, and switchgear.

 Both TKS-P solutions are available with advanced combiner boxes in the PV array field.  The core units are fully integrated via communication and monitoring components to ensure smooth PV power plant operations.  The robust, outdoor-ready design ensures it is suitable for harsh environments and makes the TKS-P the preferred choice for large scale projects in America.

 AEG PS showcases its latest product developments in central inverters, storage concepts and smart grid power solutions in booth 2814 at Solar Power International in Chicago from 21 to 24 October, 2013.

When the market makes visible growth around the world, the little things have to be looked at to make sure the solar industry stays ahead of the curve.  The fire in NJ has caused a view at the impact of solar in a fire scenario.  September marked a month of stories about the topic.  If your company has a view or method to mitigate any of the risk, write about it or run a webinar.

News

• HuffPost: Solar Is Finally Getting Closer To Battery Storage Technology
• Reuters: IKEA to sell solar panels from all UK stores
• Scranton Times: Solar business still sunny; but energy credits cast shadow
• KTVU: Solar panels proving to be dangerous to firefighters
• HuffPost: “Solar is the Most Economical Option,” Says XCEL Energy CEO
• Business Spectator: Non-solar homeowners losing out in California
• Reuters: China to offer tax breaks to solar power manufacturers

Opinions

• Scientific American: Can Solar Power Be Cheap?
• Forbes: We Do Not Need A New Solar Power Program

Have a great day!

Yann