Solis has installed a comprehensive PV system for the multinational Akzo Nobel at its factory in Nuevo León, Mexico. The system incorporates the latest generation of Solis inverters, which include intelligent monitoring, and consolidates the facility’s status as one of the most modern and sustainable manufacturing facilities in the national territory.
Installation was carried out by MR Energy, a Solis partner, in the Akzo Nobel automotive factory, delivering estimated savings of more than 200,000 Mexican pesos in electricity costs, while generating 621 kW in DC and 460 kW in AC.
Juan García, Operations Manager at Akzo Nobel Mexico, endorsed the company’s commitment to clean energy and the adoption of a solar system that will reduce polluting emissions, as well as optimize costs and productivity.
“Sustainability is one of our core values and it is integrated in everything we do. We strive to lead our industry by pioneering a world of possibilities and reducing our impact on the planet,” commented a company executive specializing in products for the automotive industry, a division where Akzo Nobel has a presence in more than eighty countries.
He went on to say that the decision to invest in renewable energy generation took into account increasing “the satisfaction of our employees and, of course, obtaining economic benefits from savings in electricity bills.”
Alejandro de la Fuente, General Director of Solutions at MR Energy, described the system as using the highest technology inverters on the market, as well as generating significant savings, being part of the digitization of the so-called Industry 4.0, integrating intelligent monitoring of the system and its efficiency.
“With the implementation of the new generation of Solis inverters for commercial and industrial use, the photovoltaic system has 5 Solis 40K-HV 5G 480V units, 4 Solis 60K-HV 4G 480V inverters and 1 Solis 20K-HV 4G 480V inverter, covering an area of 4,000 square metres with flushmount, groundmount and carport installations.”
De la Fuente went on to say that one of the challenges faced in this project was the implementation of new Solis technology such as its Power Export Managers, “which control the generation of energy that is exported to the grid and also maintain a number of controls to monitor the efficiency of the system in general. We have installed more than 30 projects nationwide and Solis have always given us the confidence, the certainty and the after-sales service to guarantee an excellent result for our clients.”
Sergio Rodríguez, Solis’ Service Manager for Latin America, added that the project brought several challenges, the main one being space, since it was required to place panels on a single roof and at a single angle.
“The other challenge was that Akzo Nobel’s need for energy was very great, so we also had a limit as to what could be interconnected to the grid. Together with Grupo MR, different options were evaluated to ensure a successful installation.”