Houston-based American Electric Technologies has received notification from TUV Rheinland that its 1 MW 1000 Volt Integrated Solar Inversion Station (ISIS) has successfully passed the solar inverter tests as outlined in UL 1741-2010. UL1741-2010 is the UL Standard for Solar Inverter equipment and other solar products for use with Distributed Energy resources.
As the U.S. utility-scale solar market develops, North American utilities and Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) firms have attempted to move from 600 Volt solar project designs to 1000 Volt solar designs for increased efficiency and lower costs. However, the lack of a certified 1000 Volt 1 MW solar inverter has been a major hindrance to moving the industry to the next level.
"Our 65 years of industry-leading expertise in multi-megawatt power conversion systems was pivotal in the design of the industry's first 1 MW 1000 Volt solar inversion station tested to the UL 1741 solar inverter requirements," said Charles Dauber AETI President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are excited to offer financers, utilities, developers and EPCs this innovative solution built in America from a company with a strong pedigree."
Financiers, developers, utilities and EPCs will now be able to build utility-scale solar farms and achieve higher ROI when designing with higher voltage 1000 Volt UL-tested photovoltaic (PV) panels, yet retain all of the solar farm electrical safety and lifetime reliability benefits of legacy 600 Volt UL-tested systems.
The built-for-purpose ISIS system delivers industry-leading performance and reliability, while assuring utility-integration success at a lower LCOE than traditional solar inverters. ISIS' industry leading MPPT PV input voltage and highest input current, with extremely low cooling losses enables the collection of up to 15% more watts per string. The integrated 1MW liquid-cooled solar inverter, a 99% efficiency, 1000KVA transformer, and a project specific utility interconnect system significantly reduce project schedules and cost.
ISIS multi-tiered smart cooling architecture and harsh environment packaging enable the industry's widest operating temperature range and the most reliable solar inverter on the market. AETI's assures successful utility-grid integration by incorporating a Utility project-specific Interconnect system and incorporation of the world's widest power factor compensation capabilities for VAR compensation.
