Ginlong Solis has introduced to the European market its latest utility-scale string inverter. The ‘Solis 255kW-EHV’ high voltage (1500V) inverter is designed to maximize PV power plant yields in the new era of high-performance large-area solar panels including bifacial panels, while significantly reducing plant LCOE (Levelized Cost of eElectricity) costs, compared to central inverters. This inverter is claimed to be a game changing solution for utility scale PV system developers who are looking for a highly efficient, cost effective inverter solution.
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PV panels have developed at an immense speed over the last few years and the challenge to inverter manufacturers is to keep up and match the requirements of high-powered large-area panels. With the development of the PV market, the cost of PV panels has gradually declined. It has become a trend to build low-LCOE power stations by improving the DC/AC ratio. Most ground power stations are built in areas with excellent irradiance conditions, which also means high ambient temperatures. According to various statistics, at least 50% of the world's PV power plants operate at an ambient temperature of 45°C, so overcoming the impact of high temperatures to maintain or improve the revenue of power generation in areas with sufficient light resources is a particularly important technical issue. Also, variable renewable energy generators composed of power electronics with a high ratio of penetration into the grid system will cause the overall strength and inertia of the grid to decline. The proportion of new energy sources in some regions of the world exceeds 50% and brings new challenges for grid stability. With the increasing adoption of high-performance bifacial panels and single axis trackers, optimization of bifacial panel yield is complex, requiring greater emphasis on string inverters to accurately track the P-V curve characteristics of to unlock the maximum power point via greatly improved MPPT algorithms.
Solution
The Solis 255kW-EHV string inverter comes with the largest single power and largest number of MPPTs in the world. Its rated power is 255kW with up to 12 MPPT and 24 string input capabilities. This can effectively solve the problem of the complex application scenarios of large-scale power station projects and reduce string mismatch problems. High-power components will become the mainstream of future photovoltaic power plants and with maximum string input current of 15A means this inverter is fully compatible with any high power and bifacial panels. Solis-255K-EHV inverter has a 200% high DC/AC ratio by “Y” type connector, suitable for low LCOE power station design anywhere in the world. This also makes this inverter storage ready should a plant wish to add a storage to their system now, or in the future. Solis-255K-EHV inverter's include a unique and efficient heat dissipation design, intelligent temperature control protection and other technologies allow the inverter to operate at full load at a temperature of 45°C. Under the same ambient temperature, using the Solis inverter, the output power will be 5%-7% higher, which is equivalent to producing an additional 50-70 kWh per MW per hour. The strong inverter also has a protection rating of IP66 and a corrosion protection rating of C5, which is higher than other brands in this class and enables stable operation in harsh environments, according to the company. The Solis-255K inverter combines a weak grid adaptive algorithm and active harmonic suppression algorithm, so that an area with SCR <1.5 can also be perfectly connected to the grid, and with high power quality where THDi (Total Harmonic Distortion) is less than 2%.
Applications
Utility-scale PV power plants with high-performance large-area PV panels and increasingly bifacial panels with single-axis trackers. Mature power plants now in the central inverter replacement cycle can shift to lower cost high powered string inverters and be ready for EES storage requirements for grid stability.
Platform
The Solis-255K-EHV string inverter has high-precision and a high-speed IV curve diagnosis function. This supports plant-level, array-level and inverter-level PV fault analysis and diagnosis and provides scanning curves to help operation and maintenance personnel automatically identify different types of PV module failures. MW-level power station fault finding within 5 minutes, improving the overall O&M efficiency of the power station. It also supports broadcast commands, which can greatly improve the efficiency of adjustment and system operation and maintenance. With 99% Maximum efficiency and supports anti-PID function to improve system efficiency and yield. The fuse-less design makes the system safe and maintenance-free. A one-click scan code access to the monitoring platform makes it easy to install and support remote upgrade & maintenance by the Solis cCloud platform monitoring software. A reserve DC energy storage interface facilitates the expansion of energy storage at a later point in time, should grid stability concerns increase, without the need to transform the entire power station. The Static Var compensator (SVG) supports a weak grid and saves investment in reactive power compensation equipment.
Availability
In the second half of 2020, onwards.