Innovations for the Markets of the Future

Photovoltaics central inverters Innovations for the markets of the future Are there any new developments in the central inverter market segment? How do companies assess their future prospects in this segment? What markets are they eyeing and what products do they have in their lines? SUN & WIND ENERGY posed these questions to a number of manufacturers and presents an overview of central inverters.

PV power plant in Japan or most manufacturers, it is not the new break- ing box, as the DC circuit breakers are already with central inverters throughs but the day-to-day grind of sales and integrated in the device. This results in cost savings from SMA Fservice that play a dominant role in their busi- and significantly reduced planning and installation.” Photo: SMA Solar Technology AG ness, hinted Christoph Lapczyna, Senior PR Manager The solar farm, continues Lapczyna, fulfills all the at Bosch Powertec GmbH. He knew of no significant requirements for feed-in management. The approxi- issues in his company at present, other than the mately 60-acre facility was built on the brownfield necessary adjustments, to transfer protocols for con- site of a former NATO airport. trollers and regulators, which companies constantly have to make for different countries. After all, busi- On the question of trends, concepts and develop- nesses have to make money and provide service to ments, Jun Huo, Marketing Department Field customers. Lapczyna painted a positive picture of the Application Engineer for Shanghai Chint Power future prospects for central inverters: “The potential Systems Co., Ltd. said that the biggest challenge in is far from exhausted. Roofs on commercial proper- central inverters was offering the customer high ties are particularly attractive for self-consumption quality performance over the full voltage and power systems. For space reasons, as well as their quick and range, along with high system efficiency andreliability. easy installation, pre-assembled inverter stations are Manufacturers also had to strive to create better topol- Speaking Italian or very attractive in this segment. For ground-mounted ogies and higher system power capacities in order to systems so-called outdoor inverters are currently further reduce BOS costs in relation to the overall in- Turkish? seeing a surge in popularity. However, topologies vestment, he said. Moreover, the market needed more We are combining our focus on with three-phase string inverters represent an inter- turnkey systems in which inverters, DC distribution selected markets with a main esting alternative for various reasons.” systems, communication equipment and all of the distribution of the magazines necessary accessories could be housed in a separate at the most important events, Bosch Powertec GmbH equipped a 33 MW project building or container. Chint sees the regions of South plus individual mailing in rele- with inverter stations in Ahlhorn, Germany in 2012. America, South Africa, China, Europe, the Middle East vant countries. In this issue According to the company, it installed 23 of its and Southeast Asia as lucrative future markets. there will not only be the usual 1,200 kVA stations and 2 of its 900 kVA (AC) stations. contributions in English, but They contain a total of 98 central inverters of the new Andreas Schlumberger, Director of Corporate also extra translations into BPT-C series, which includes devices with AC outputs Communications at KACO new energy GmbH, sees Italian and Turkish language. If of 200, 300 and 350 kVA. “With a maximum efficien- three trends that apply specifically to the central you live in Turkey or Italy, you cy of 98.7 % and a European efficiency of 98.5 %, the inverter market: keen price competition, an increase may find a compiled transla- BPT-C inverters are the most efficient in their class,” in output capacities, and a trend toward product sup- tion of this article at the end of writes Lapczyna. “The completely new concept of the pliers becoming system suppliers that take into this magazine. BPT-C series eliminates the need for a generator dock- account specific customer specifications. “One of the

70 Sun & Wind Energy 3/2014 concepts we are responding with,” says Schlumberger, Agilo outdoor central “is our IPS (Integrated Power Station) with a capacity inverters from Fronius of 2 MW, which we will bring to market this summer. Photo: Fronius International Like its 1.1 MW predecessor, it includes all of the necessary components, so that all that is left to do is connect the PV plant and install the grid connection from the integrated transformer.” In the German- speaking region, and in many other parts of Europe, Schlumberger does not see any great opportunities at present. “We see good market opportunities in North and South America, as well as in the Middle East and Asia. However, customer-specific equipment adaptations present major challenges.”

The Austrian manufacturer Fronius International sees new requirements for central inverters installed outdoors. “Basically, the issue is the variety of environ- mental factors, such as sunlight, rain and snow to which the devices are exposed,” writes Andrea Schartner, Team Leader of Communications. “Our outdoor central inverters already meet these high requirements. In addition, at Fronius, development is ongoing. Our tests exceed the standards, particularly in the area of quality.” Thanks to new markets in the USA, Australia and India, the company sees great potential and therefore is developing central inverters “Europe is likely to remain an important market for specifically for this segment which meet the needs of photovoltaics and thus also for central inverters. We’ll these markets as well as new technical and environ- see our greatest growth mainly in North America. mental demands. We’ve been represented there for almost ten years by According to Schartner, Fronius sees the growth a branch office and sales teams. This investment potential of individual PV markets in 2014 as follows: early on has resulted in a significant market share

Solar Edition 71 Photovoltaics central inverters

Central inverters at a glance

Company Products (selected) Max. input DC voltage AC nominal AC nominal Max. effi- Euro-effi- Protection Weight W/H/D [mm] power (kW) range MPP [V] output [kW] voltage [V] ciency [%] ciency [%] [IP xx] [kg] ABB PVS800-57-0100kW-A 120 450...825 100 300 98.0 97.5 42 550 1,030/2,130/646 PVS800-57-0250kW-A 300 450...825 250 300 98.0 97.6 42 1,100 1,830/2,130/646 PVS800-57-0315kW-B 380 525...825 315 350 98.6 98.3 42 1,100 1,830/2,130/646 PVS800-57-0500kW-A 600 450...825 500 300 98.6 98.2 42 1,800 2,630/2,130/646 PVS800-57-0630kW-B 756 525...825 630 350 98.6 98.4 42 1,800 2,630/2,130/646 PVS800-57-0875kW-B 1,050 525...825 875 350 98.7 98.5 42 2,600 3,630/2,130/646 PVS800-57-1000kW-C 1,200 600...850 1,000 400 98.8 98.6 42 2,600 3,630/2,130/646 AEG Power Protect PV.560 500...680 385...1,000 560 283 98.4 98.2 20 1,650 2,700/1,800 Solutions (+230 fans)/600 Protect PV.690 630...890 465...1,000 690 345 98.4 98.2 20 1,800 2,700/1,800 (+230 fans)/600 Protect PV.880 800...1,150 486...1,000 880 360 98.9 98.6 20 1,850 2,700/1,800 (+230 fans)/600 Bonfiglioli Vectron RPS 450 Compact 0170 170 425...875 150 400 96.7 95.9 20 1,100 1,200/1,700/800 RPS 450 Compact Outdoor 170 425...875 150 400 96.7 95.9 54 1,100 800/1,950/1,200 0170 RPS TL 1580 1,587 550...875 1,400 360 98.6 98.4 20 4,100 2,100/5,000/800 RPS TL Modular Outdoor 220 545...875 200 360 98.6 98.4 54 900 800/1,950/1,200 0220 RPS TL-UL 1400 1,587 550...850 1,400 360 98.6 98.4 20 4,100 5,000/2,100/800 RPS ND 0500 650 550...875 500 360 98.6 98.4 20 900 1,210/2,120/610 Bosch Powertec BPT-C 200 260 530...800 200 300 98.7 98.3 20 1,250 1,800/1,600/800 GmbH BPT-C 300 360 530...800 300 300 98.7 98.5 20 1,250 1,800/1,600/800 BPT-C 350 400 580...800 350 315 98.7 98.5 20 1,250 1,800/1,600/800 Shanghai Chint CPS SCA500KTL-H 565 450...820 500 270/315 98.5 98.3 20 1,500 1,810/2,170/800 Power Systems CPS SCA630KTL-H 650 500...820 630 320 98.5 98.3 20 1,500 1,810/2,170/800 Co.,Ltd. CPS PSW1M 1,130 450...820 1,000 270/315 98.5 98.3 20 9,000 6,058/2,896/2,438 CPS PSW1.26M 1,300 500...820 1,260 320 98.5 98.3 20 9,000 6,058/2,896/2,438 Danfoss GmbH QLX U1 1000 (US market) 1,250 450...950 1,000 285 >98 97.5 NEMA 3R 3,200 4,000/2,200/1,100 outdoor QLX U1 1250 (US market) 1,500 560...950 1,250 355 >98 97.5 NEMA 3R 3,200 4,000/2,200/1,100 outdoor QLX U1 1500 (US market) 1,750 680...950 1,500 430 >98 97.5 NEMA 3R 3,200 4,000/2,200/1,100 outdoor Fronius International Fronius CL 33.3 Delta 44.75 230...500 33.3 208 95.9 n/a NEMA 3R 300 1,105/1,945/797 Fronius CL 36.0 57.9 230...500 36 230/400 95.9 95.3 20 248 1,105/1,830/722 Fronius Agilo 75.0-3 117.4 460...820 75 230/400 97.3 96.7 30/54 760 1,100/1,884/700 Fronius Agilo 100.0-3 156.6 460...820 100 230/400 97.3 96.6 30/54 834 1,100/1,884/700 Fronius Agilo 75.0-3 117.4 460...820 75 230/400 97.3 96.7 44/55 732 1,204/1,913/862 Outdoor Fronius Agilo 100.0-3 156.6 460...820 100 230/400 97.3 96.6 44/55 806 1,204/1,913/862 Outdoor KACO new energy Powador XP500-HV TL 600 550 500 3x370 98.5 98.2 21 1,656 2,400/2,120/870 Powador XP550-HV TL 660 550 550 3x370 98.5 98.2 21 1,656 2,400/2,120/870 Powador XP500-HV TL 600 550 500 3x370 98.7 98.3 54 2,200 2,600/2,125/860 outdoor Powador XP550-HV TL 660 550 550 3x370 98.7 98.3 54 2,200 2,600/2,125/860 outdoor KACO blueplanet 1000 1,050 550 1,000 3x370 98.7 98,0 54 3,000 3,110/2,120/1,000 TL3 5) LTi Reenergy PVM3-59-350-EM 385 590/920 350 390 98.6 98.2 00 (54) 400 1,200/2,000/500 PVM3-58-333-EM 366 580/920 333 370 98.6 98.2 00 (54) 400 1,200/2,000/500 PVM3-59-350-EM 310 570/920 283 350 98.6 98.2 00 (54) 400 1,200/2,000/500 Power-One PVI-330 354 485...800 330 400 96.7 95.5 20 1,750 1,250/2,184/850 (continues on next page) PVI-400-TL 430 570...800 400 380 98.0 97.7 20 1,150 1,250/2,184/850 ULTRA-700.0-TL-OUTD 824 645...850 780 690 98.7 98.2 65 3,000 3,000/2,938/1,520 ULTRA-1050.0-TL-OUTD 1,240 645...850 1,170 690 98.7 98.2 65 3,800 3,700/2,938/1,520 ULTRA-1400.0-TL-OUTD 1,660 645...850 1,560 690 98.7 97.7 65 4,600 4,400/2,938/1,520

72 Sun & Wind Energy 3/2014 which we want to increase in the coming year. What large PV power plant projects. And furthermore, “In will help us to achieve this – in addition to the new central inverters there is a trend toward more power- America-specific products – is the Fronius Service ful designs and complete AC-to-DC systems, which en- Partner Programme, which has made us a leader in ables a concurrent reduction in system costs.” The service in other markets. Fronius has a special strate- new generation of systems with central inverters from gic focus on the American market, where it is repre- SMA meet the global requirements in terms of grid sented by three solar subsidiaries.” codes, new standards, integration of additional func- Schartner says that in the Asian region her com- tions in the converter and can also be expanded into pany has a strong focus on Australia and India. In or- a complete system with DC-side and extended solar der to deal with this market, Fronius established a farm control. Another trend is moving in the direction branch office in Australia in 2010. There they offer of large commercial applications which are also the same services as in their existing home markets; equipped with central inverters. Apart from the USA, namely, technical support, a repair centre, sales, and PV markets have seen positive development in Chile, so on. “Offering personal support on site was an op- South Africa and Japan, according to SMA. portunity that Fronius seized in a timely fashion by In 2013, SMA equipped numerous PV power plant entering the market early,” says Schartner. “In India, projects around the globe with central inverters. In we’ve been in country since the beginning of 2014 in order to serve the market and its regional needs properly.” The company even has a presence in the so-called global sunbelt. “The requests from Over 2 GW the sunbelt just keep increasing,” said Schartner. “In many places the necessary installed worldwide served conditions are now being created – that is, they are getting everything ready to connect by Bonfi glioli inverters PV to the public grid. Against the back- ground of high energy costs and high inso- lation, some very attractive PV markets should open up there in the coming years.” This has prompted Fronius to set up a subsidiary in Brazil, in order to present itself as a quality leader there. Courtesy of SunEdison, 60.4 MW Solar Plant, Karadzhalovo, Bulgaria Fronius reports that Austria’s first and largest landfill PV power plant is located on a former landfill site in St. Veit an der Glan. The customer was the municipal composting plant, a subsidiary of the city. The decision for a large-scale PV plant was based on the one hand on the wish to take full advantage of the fallow area, and on the other hand, to comply with the desire of the city to achieve energy self-sufficiency by the year 2020. “The reclamation of a landfill is unique in Austria. For years, this area could not be used. Now it is being put to new use supply- ing approximately 480 households with solar power,” says Josef Lobnig, Managing Director of the company Solartec Photovoltaik GmbH, which was responsible for planning. Fronius emphasises that only local firms were contracted to construct the As one of the world’s leading players in clean energy today, Bonfi glioli power plant. Product quality and the fact has the innovative know-how and technical capacity to bring medium- large and utilityscale PV installations to life. that Fronius is from the region were crucial Bonfi glioli designs and manufactures a wide range of hi-tech power in the decision to install 15 Fronius Agilo conversion systems up to 3 MW turnkey solutions inside the Bonfi glioli Visit us at Vectron center of excellence in Germany, ensuring an optimal return 100.0-3 outdoor central inverters. of investment. PV POWER PLANTS - TURKEY In-depth understanding of markets dynamics, 17 commercial subsidiaries, four photovoltaic production centers on three continents and a wide range of inverters, make Bonfi glioli a long-standing and Germany’s SMA Solar Technology AG as- riskless industry player for photovoltaic fi eld developments anywhere in the world. sesses the future opportunities for the The future is bright with Bonfi glioli! central inverter segment as quite good. The company writes that in the USA in particular, but also in other countries around the world, www.bonfi glioli.it there is a discernable positive trend toward

Solar Edition 73 Photovoltaics central inverters

Central inverters at a glance

Company Products (selected) Max. input DC voltage AC nominal AC nominal Max. effi- Euro-effi- Protection Weight W/H/D [mm] power (kW) range MPP [V] output [kW] voltage [V] ciency [%] ciency [%] [IP xx] [kg] Power-One PVI-STATION-1320.0-DE 1,416 485...800 1,320 20,000 98,0% 97.7% n/a 35,000 5,380/2,860/3,020 (continuation) PLUS-STATION-1200.0-DE 1,284 570...800 1,200 20,000 98,0% 97.7% n/a 32,000 5,380/2,860/3,020 ULTRA-STATION-3110.0-DE 3,320 645...850 3,120 20,000 98.7% 98.2% n/a 20,000 inverter: 4,400/2,938/1,520 station: 6,000/2,800/2,500 Refusol 333K 375 610...1,200 333 690 98.4 98 55 850 1,230/1,610/810 Advanced Energy AE 100TX (with trans- n/a 295...595 n/a 208/480/600 97.1 96.0 (CEC) NEMA 4 1,361 1,670/2,330/890 Industries. Inc. former) (US market) AE 250NX (without n/a 330...600 n/a 480 98.1 97.5 (CEC) NEMA 3R 927 1,882/2,064/860 transformer) AE 333NX (without n/a 330...600 n/a 480 98.3 97.5 NEMA 3R 927 1,882/2,064/860 transformer) AE 1000NX (without n/a 550...1,000 n/a 800 98,0 97.5 NEMA 3R 2,472 4,420/2,290/1,060 transformer) SMA Solar SC 500CP XT 560 430...850 500 270 98.6 98.4 54 1,900 2,561.5/2,272/956 Technology AG SC 630CP XT 705 500...850 630 315 98.7 98.5 54 1,900 2,561.5/2,272/956 SC 760CP XT 853 505…850 760 342 98.6 98.4 54 1,900 2,561.5/2,272/956 SC 800CP-JP 900 530...850 800 360 98.6 98.4 54 1,800 2,561.5/2,272/956 SC 900CP XT 1,010 596…850 900 405 98.6 98.4 54 1,900 2,561.5/2,272/956 SC 900CP-US 1,005 600…820 900 405 98.6 n/a NEMA 3R 1,870 2,561.5/2,272/956 Sputnik Engineering SolarMax 330TS-SV 450 800 330 280 98.0 97.2 20 990 1,200/1,970/800 AG SolarMax 660TS-SV 450 800 660 280 98.0 97.2 20 990 1,200/1,970/800 SolarMax 990TS-SV 450 800 990 280 98.0 97.2 20 990 1,200/1,970/800 SolarMax 1080TS-SV 510 800 1,080 320 98.0 97.4 20 990 1,200/1,970/800 SolarMax 1320TS-SV 450 800 1,320 280 98.0 97.2 n/a 990 1,200/1,970/800 SolarMax 1440TS-SV 510 800 1,440 320 98.0 97.4 20 990 1,200/1,970/800 Sungrow Power SG500MX 560 500...850 500 315 98.7 98.5 21 1,700 1,606/2,034/8,60 Supply Co.- Ltd. SG800MX outdoor 900 545...820 800 342 98.7 98.4 NEMA 3R 2,600 2,598/2,164/1,000 (54) SG1000TS 1,200 500...850 1,000 10/20/23 kV 98.7 98.5 54 6,000 2,991/2,591/2,438 SG1260TS 1,426 615...850 2x630 10/20/23 kV 98.6 98.5 54 6,000 2,991/2,591/2,438 SG1260TS-MV 2x713 615...850 2x630 10/20/23 kV 97.9 98.5 54 12,000 6,058/2,591/2,438

South Africa, the 75 MW Kalkbult PV project was con- strings than were previously possible can be used nected to the grid early. In Canada, SMA supplied thanks to the high input voltage. This results in lower central inverters to a 100 MW PV power plant, the losses at the same power level and cable cross- largest in the country, and will also be responsible for section and thus better efficiency in the overall sys- its operation. With its 70 MW capacity, Japan’s largest tem. Because you can install up to 50 % more mod- PV power plant in the south of the country is run by ules per string and thus fewer combiner boxes with the Kagoshima Mega Solar Power Corporation. For respect to inverter power, this effect contributes to that project, SMA delivered a total of 140 Sunny lower cable costs on the DC side. ”When asked about Central 500CP-JP central inverters. They are specially market opportunities Groll says: “In countries where adapted to the requirements of the Japanese market. mainly large PV power plants are built, central in The inverters guarantee the highest yields for large- verters will continue to play a significant role. Central scale solar power plants with capacities of more than inverters are especially common in the North 500 kW. Thanks to the 500CP-JP’s durable housing, it American, Latin American, Indian and UK markets. To- can also be installed directly outdoors. gether with inverters from Advanced Energy for the North American market, we have the optimal solution “As some of the large solar module manufacturers in our product range for every region.” are now offering modules with outputs of up to 1,500 V, there is an increasing demand for central in- Among manufacturers that have directed their focus verters that can handle such voltages,” writes Michael to the US market is Swiss Sputnik Engineering AG, Groll, the Head of Global Marketing at Refusol. For with its TS-SV series SolarMax central inverters. Of this power range, the company, which belongs to course, the company is also looking for opportunities U.S.-based Advanced Energy Inc., offers its 333K cen- in the European market. A recent example is a roof tral inverter. “With this device,” says Groll, “longer system for the Swiss retailer Migros at the site of its

74 Sun & Wind Energy 3/2014 Solar Edition 75 Photovoltaics central inverters

Mounted on the roof: SolarMax TS-SV series central inverters Photo: Sputnik Engineering AG

Verteilbetrieb Neuendorf AG, which was connected to and Product Management at Danfoss GmbH in the grid last summer. What distinguishes this PV Offenbach, Germany. “Target applications include project is the fact that the installation company in- large solar farms, which are often used in our primary stalled transformer and inverter stations directly on target market in the USA in regions with very harsh the roof. This is unusual due to the heavy weight of and generally very hot climates.” In developing the such stations, Sputnik reported. However, there was a QLX, the company not only focussed on its suitability good reason for the decision. By collocating the for use under extreme conditions, but also designed inverter and transformer with the plant, the solar it to be highly installation-friendly, Dajek explains. power the system produces does not have to travel a Part of that design concept is the fact that the QLX is long distance over a low-voltage line. Instead, it can delivered as a preassembled unit (with the transform- be fed directly on the roof into the company’s own me- er) and merely has to be connected to the AC and DC dium-voltage distribution network, which Migros has lines on site. In case of a fault, the well thought out as a large-scale consumer of electricity. This avoids modular design makes it possible to swap out indi- losses that would be incurred by distributing power vidual components on site to ensure maximum sys- over longer low-voltage lines. The PV system has an tem availability, says Dajek. The first QLX inverters area of 32,000 m2 and produces up to 5.21 MW of have already been sold and will be put into service in power. The expected annual yield is 4,836 MWh. a 1 MW facility near Richmond in January 2014. The client is the Indiana Municipal Power Agency. “In the USA, we have developed the new QLX family of central inverters, which is currently in the field test- With the increase in installed renewable genera- ing phase and was shown for the first time ever in tion, the Italian manufacturer Bonfiglioli is taking Europe at Intersolar 2013,” writes team manager Ralf the challenge to provide more sophisticated solu- Dajek of the Department of Technical Sales Support tions for both plant management and grid manage-

The PVS 800 ABB with a capacity of up to 1,000 kW Central inverters from Danfoss for the U.S. has been optimized for cost-effective multi-mega- market Photo: Danfoss watt PV farms. Photo: ABB

76 Sun & Wind Energy 3/2014 RPS Endurance is the newest product from Bonfiglioli and available with 500 kW nominal power. Photo: Bonfiglioli ment. Examples include the interaction with DC Power optimizers, storage and backup power systems, remote disconnect means, SCADA monitoring and power plant controllers for utility interaction, voltage and frequency support. Due to the diversity of solutions available, there are efforts to harmonize and standardize industry practices to benefit all invested parties. Bonfiglioli has been, and continues to be, com- mitted to the utility scale photovoltaic installations. This focus and dedication is clearly seen from the product portfolio and service offerings. Bonfiglioli announces that both will be continuously expanded in the future, demonstrating the company’s high ex- pectations on the growth potential of the market. Bonfiglioli has a worldwide sales and service network to expand into worldwide markets together with the customers. Current focus markets are Europe, the Americas, India and Eastern Asia. Bonfiglioli’s flagship solution, the RPS TL modular utility-scale inverter series, provides a wide range of power offerings and design flexibility. The newest addition to our product offerings, the RPS Endurance, has an industry leading 15 % overload capability, a very small footprint and is currently available in a convenient 500 kW building-block nominal power rating. Wilhelm Wilming

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