Advanced Energy Industries has improved the performance of its 500kW ‘Solaron’ PV inverters have achieved a 98% efficiency rating from the California Energy Commission (CEC). According to the company this is a record breaking efficiency rating for any inverter in this power class. Advanced Energy also held the previous industry benchmarks of 97% and then 97.5%. By achieving 98% average efficiency without carve-outs for auxiliary power or other adjustments, the ‘Solaron’ PV inverters are ideal for the commercial and utility-scale solar inverter market.
Problem
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Inverter efficiency determines the amount of energy converted from a solar array to power that is delivered to the system owner, financier, or utility. Each percentage increase in efficiency leads to additional kilowatt-hours of energy produced, resulting in more cash and RECs generated from a solar PV system. When properly balanced with cost and long-term reliability, incremental gains in efficiency can lead to a significant improvement in project profitability. Solar project owners, investors and other stakeholders should consider the efficiencies of individual system components when evaluating the levelized cost of electricity production from a PV system.
Solution
By improving peak energy efficiency to 98.7 percent and weighted efficiency to 98 percent, which is one to three percentage points higher than comparable commercial and utility-scale solar PV inverters, Advanced Energy’s new Solaron 500 HE inverters can generate more cash-flow for project developers, owners and financiers. The CEC is the leading North American agency to review, compile and approve inverters for commercial use. The CEC posts ratings for hundreds of inverters that have been approved by certified testing facilities.
Applications
Utility-scale PV power plants.
Platform
By providing reliable, easy-to-install Solaron and PV Powered inverters and SiteGuard whole-site O&M services, AE enables utility-scale, commercial, and residential solar project developers to maximize the lifetime value of their power plants.
Availability
May 2011 onwards.
