Houston-based American Electric Technologies, Inc. the leading global provider of power delivery solutions for the traditional and renewable energy industries, today announced that the company has received notification from TUV Rheinland that its one 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 1 MW 1000 Volt solar inverter has been a major hindrance to moving the industry to the next level.
In becoming the first one MW integrated solar inversion station tested to UL 1741-2010 at 1000 Volts, 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.
AETI has shipped more than one GW of power distribution and conversion systems into the worlds harshest environments during our 65 years in the energy industry, said Charles Dauber, AETI President and Chief Executive Officer. Our industry-leading expertise in multi-megawatt power conversion systems was pivotal in the design of the industrys first one MW 1000 Volt solar inversion station tested to the UL 1741 solar inverter requirements. We are excited to offer financers, utilities, developers and EPCs this innovative solution from a company with a strong pedigree.
Underwriters Laboratory (UL) is responsible for the development of the UL 1741 Standards. UL is an independent safety certification organization that has been testing products as a Nationally Recognized Test Laboratory (NRTL) and writing standards for safety for more than a century. The United States Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and California Energy Commission have approved a select few NRTLs including TUV Rheinland to perform testing to UL 1741 standards as part of their solar inverter testing process. TUV Rheinland validated compliance to UL 1741 design test for AETIs 1 MW ISIS for all UL 1741-2010 requirements.
We are excited to be able to deploy the worlds first 1000 Volt 1 MW solar inverter tested to UL1741. With AETIs 65 years of experience, reputation, and bankability it was an easy decision for us, said Peter Mathey, Chief Executive Officer, Ignite Solar. Based on 65 years of experience in innovating and deploying technologies in the energy industry, 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 utilizes 1000 Volt input voltages as well as the industrys highest input current levels, that when used with todays 1000 Volt UL-tested PV panels, can convert up to 15 percent more watts per string than 600 Volt solar inverters. ISIS is the most reliable solar inverter on the market with the widest operating temperature range. The systems multi-tiered smart cooling architecture utilizes liquid-cooled power electronics with computer-controlled air cooling to deliver a very low tare loss solution.
ISIS harsh-environment system packaging enables the industrys leading operational range of -40° to 50°C without output power de-rating, and operation to 60 oC with normal power de-rating. ISIS assures successful grid integration with utility systems by:
- Incorporating all the necessary utility grid integration components into a medium voltage utility interconnection system, including breakers, relaying and revenue metering to meet specific regional grid interconnect requirements;
- Incorporating the worlds widest power factor compensation capabilities (down to 0 pf) that addresses regional utility requirements for dynamic VAR compensation; and
- Meeting IEEE-519 <3% TDD power quality requirements.
ISIS is constructed in a self-skidded, environmentally secure and pre-commissioned NEMA 3R line-up, and includes a built-in, utility-compliant SCADA system to dramatically lower construction schedules and costs. AETI will showcase the complete ISIS system at the upcoming InterSolar USA conference (http://www.intersolar.us/) on July 12-14 in San Francisco, CA at the Moscone Center – North Hall, Booth 5453.
