"The new offerings expand our broad array of products and services for the solar market," said Power-One President of Renewable Energy Solutions Dr. Alex Levran.
"We are excited to present not only several new inverters which combine high innovation content and key features, but also to introduce the AURORA Vision offering which provides greater system control and yield for our customers."
Microinverter companies have attempted to position their products as a disruptive technology to conventional string inverters.
As such, the introduction of a microinverter line by the second-largest maker of inverters for solar photovoltaic (PV) applications is an interesting signal for the future of the technology.
In presenting the Micro-0.3, Power-One cites the advantages typically advertised by microinverter makers, including minimizing losses in challenging conditions and module-level MPPT management.
Ultra-1400 offers high conversion efficiencies, wide input voltage range
Power-One states that its large-scale Ultra-1400 offers power conversion efficiencies up to 98.7%. The inverter also accepts an extra wide input voltage range and multiple maximum power point tracking (MPPT) channels, which the company says allows it to optimize energy harvest across a wide array of operating conditions.
The inverter's enclosure includes passive liquid cooling and total segregation of internal compartments. Power-One notes that the inverter's modular structure allows for extraction of sub-assemblies, which it says eases both installation and maintenance.
Aurora Vision offers a range of monitoring and control services
The company also unveiled its new Aurora Vision line at the trade show, which involves hardware, software and accessories.
The company states that in order to maximize system energy output while minimizing costs, the software includes a full range of system fault management, diagnostics, asset tracking, performance index and alerting services.
Accessories include a desktop monitoring system and the EVO Easy control, which allows monitoring of inverter performance over the internet.
2011年6月12日星期日
2011年6月6日星期一
Microinverter and Solar Electronics Roundup
GTM Research forecasts a $6.9 billion PV inverter market for 2011 and MJ Shiao, GTM's inverter expert, just published the authoritative report on the Global PV Inverter Landscape.
The sub-sector of inverters, microinverters and their kin -- dubbed "distributed inversion and optimization" -- is a small, innovative and growing segment of the market, and Shiao explores it comprehensively in his report.
We've covered the potential benefits of distributed electronics at length in our solar coverage at Greentech Media. There are potential energy harvest gains, potential improvements in design flexibility, and potential reliability gains. There is some question as to whether the microinverter solution or the DC-to-DC power optimizer architecture is the way to go.
Intersolar Europe is officially underway this week and there's the usual flood of announcements coming from the conference. Here's a roundup of news in the microinverter and distributed electronics sector to keep our readership on top of this important and emerging piece of the solar installation puzzle.
Array Converter is still in stealth. Read about them here and peruse their patents here. Make sure to check out this comment thread here.
Azuray is displaying their power-optimizer/junction box and communications gateway in partnership with Renhe Photovoltaic Technology, a large China-based PV junction box manufacturer.
Direct Grid's micro-inverters for large commercial and utility-scale projects use Echelon Corporation's energy control networking software.
eIQ Energy signed an agreement with Granite Construction (NYSE: GVA) to provide parallel solar technology for a 1.2-megawatt solar PV installation at Granite's aggregate and hot mix facility in Coalinga, California.
Enecsys won $41 million in round B VC funding from Climate Change Capital Private Equity, Wellington Partners, NES Partners, and Good Energies last month. Each Enecsys micro inverter has a built-in ZigBee wireless monitoring system.
Enphase has hit the 750,000-unit mark on microinverter shipments. At this pace, the one-million-unit threshold is only a few months away. The firm also launched its most efficient microinverter (96 percent CEC-weighted), along with a 25-year limited warranty.
Involar builds microinverters in China that look a lot like Enphase microinverters, on the outside at least.
National Semiconductor's integrated circuits are designed for use in PV system microinverters, power optimizers, and charge controllers.
Petra Solar is going global with their pole-mounted AC module.
Phobos Energy has a license agreement with Colorado University for PV balance-of-system technology developed at CU-Boulder's Colorado Power Electronics Center.
The sub-sector of inverters, microinverters and their kin -- dubbed "distributed inversion and optimization" -- is a small, innovative and growing segment of the market, and Shiao explores it comprehensively in his report.
We've covered the potential benefits of distributed electronics at length in our solar coverage at Greentech Media. There are potential energy harvest gains, potential improvements in design flexibility, and potential reliability gains. There is some question as to whether the microinverter solution or the DC-to-DC power optimizer architecture is the way to go.
Intersolar Europe is officially underway this week and there's the usual flood of announcements coming from the conference. Here's a roundup of news in the microinverter and distributed electronics sector to keep our readership on top of this important and emerging piece of the solar installation puzzle.
Array Converter is still in stealth. Read about them here and peruse their patents here. Make sure to check out this comment thread here.
Azuray is displaying their power-optimizer/junction box and communications gateway in partnership with Renhe Photovoltaic Technology, a large China-based PV junction box manufacturer.
Direct Grid's micro-inverters for large commercial and utility-scale projects use Echelon Corporation's energy control networking software.
eIQ Energy signed an agreement with Granite Construction (NYSE: GVA) to provide parallel solar technology for a 1.2-megawatt solar PV installation at Granite's aggregate and hot mix facility in Coalinga, California.
Enecsys won $41 million in round B VC funding from Climate Change Capital Private Equity, Wellington Partners, NES Partners, and Good Energies last month. Each Enecsys micro inverter has a built-in ZigBee wireless monitoring system.
Enphase has hit the 750,000-unit mark on microinverter shipments. At this pace, the one-million-unit threshold is only a few months away. The firm also launched its most efficient microinverter (96 percent CEC-weighted), along with a 25-year limited warranty.
Involar builds microinverters in China that look a lot like Enphase microinverters, on the outside at least.
National Semiconductor's integrated circuits are designed for use in PV system microinverters, power optimizers, and charge controllers.
Petra Solar is going global with their pole-mounted AC module.
Phobos Energy has a license agreement with Colorado University for PV balance-of-system technology developed at CU-Boulder's Colorado Power Electronics Center.
2011年5月15日星期日
Enecsys secures £25 million ($41 million) investment to accelerate its growth plan
Enecsys, the leader in reliable, long-life solar micro inverter systems for residential and commercial applications, has secured a further £25 million ($41 million) in equity financing to invest in its growth plan.
Enecsys was founded in 2003 and its patented technology was originally developed at Cambridge University in the UK. Solar inverters convert the DC power produced by solar photovoltaic (PV) modules into AC power for supply to the electricity grid. Enecsys micro inverters are installed on the rail behind solar modules, either one inverter per solar module or one for every two modules. The Enecsys micro inverter represents a breakthrough in inverter design for residential and commercial solar PV installations as its technology has, for the first time, eliminated components that limit inverter life. Additionally the Enecsys micro inverter enables solar PV systems to harvest between 5% and 20% more energy; it makes planning and installation of PV systems easier and safer due to the elimination of high voltage DC wiring, and it enhances system optimization by monitoring the performance of each solar module. Enecsys has recently launched its products in Europe and North America and the latest financing has been arranged to facilitate substantial expected growth.
Climate Change Capital Private Equity led this Series B equity financing with an investment of £11 million ($18 million). The balance, £14 million ($23 million), was secured from the existing Enecsys investors, Wellington Partners, NES Partners (formerly known as Bankinvest New Energy Solutions) and Good Energies, who together previously invested £8.5 million ($14.3 million) in Enecsys in a Series A financing in 2009. The latest financing round represents the largest private equity raise in the European cleantech sector so far this year.
Enecsys was founded in 2003 and its patented technology was originally developed at Cambridge University in the UK. Solar inverters convert the DC power produced by solar photovoltaic (PV) modules into AC power for supply to the electricity grid. Enecsys micro inverters are installed on the rail behind solar modules, either one inverter per solar module or one for every two modules. The Enecsys micro inverter represents a breakthrough in inverter design for residential and commercial solar PV installations as its technology has, for the first time, eliminated components that limit inverter life. Additionally the Enecsys micro inverter enables solar PV systems to harvest between 5% and 20% more energy; it makes planning and installation of PV systems easier and safer due to the elimination of high voltage DC wiring, and it enhances system optimization by monitoring the performance of each solar module. Enecsys has recently launched its products in Europe and North America and the latest financing has been arranged to facilitate substantial expected growth.
Climate Change Capital Private Equity led this Series B equity financing with an investment of £11 million ($18 million). The balance, £14 million ($23 million), was secured from the existing Enecsys investors, Wellington Partners, NES Partners (formerly known as Bankinvest New Energy Solutions) and Good Energies, who together previously invested £8.5 million ($14.3 million) in Enecsys in a Series A financing in 2009. The latest financing round represents the largest private equity raise in the European cleantech sector so far this year.
2011年5月8日星期日
Power Optimizer for solar power conversion
Power-One, Inc. has launched its new 300W micro-inverter and DC/DC power optimizer for PV solar modules. By linking a micro-inverter to each module, the output of every single panel can be individually controlled and optimized. The second product, the AURORA OPTI-0.3 power optimizer, is also linked to one module and helps maximize the energy output.
"We offer something new to Power-One customers with these two products," said Paolo Casini, Vice President, Product Marketing at Power-One. "Both micro-inverters and power optimizers were designed to help our customers make the most out of installations which have to cope with difficult conditions like partial or temporary shading or significant panel mismatching. Moreover, the MICRO-0.3 is the perfect choice for customers who want to adjust the size of their applications easily."
According to Power-One by equipping each module with its own micro-inverter, each solar panel benefits from a separate MPPT, creating the optimum power curve for individual panel conditions. This does not only minimize efficiency losses in challenging conditions, but also allows for controlling every module individually, ease of plant expansion without the hassle of string re-sizing or panel matching.
Additional features of the device include efficiency ratings of up to 95.5 percent, a rugged outdoor enclosure and HF isolation, allowing it to fit any application requiring the grounding of either one of the input terminations. The micro-inverter is electrolyte-free to further increase the product lifetime and long term reliability and can be easily installed due to a proprietary wireless communication hub and grid interface included in the package. Up to ten micro-inverters can be connected in a string.
Power optimizers like the AURORA OPTI-0.3 perfectly complement all Power-One AURORA inverters as they optimize the energy harvested from each module in an array. Usually, solar panels are joined together in a serial pattern. If the functionality of one panel is impaired, the energy being produced from the entire installation is reduced accordingly. This effect can be significantly lowered by using power optimizers. The AURORA OPTI-0.3 uses DC-to-DC technology to maximize the energy produced by each module within a string as it optimizes the voltage or current for any given weather conditions.
The device helps to minimize loss caused by partial or temporary shading and mitigates PV panel mismatch and to acquire single panel data radio transmitted to a communication hub which is part of the package. This helps installers to create the largest installations possible and increases the return on investment (ROI). The AURORA OPTI-0.3 offers efficiency rates of up to 99.5 percent, a single panel Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT) and a temperature hardened construction.
"We offer something new to Power-One customers with these two products," said Paolo Casini, Vice President, Product Marketing at Power-One. "Both micro-inverters and power optimizers were designed to help our customers make the most out of installations which have to cope with difficult conditions like partial or temporary shading or significant panel mismatching. Moreover, the MICRO-0.3 is the perfect choice for customers who want to adjust the size of their applications easily."
According to Power-One by equipping each module with its own micro-inverter, each solar panel benefits from a separate MPPT, creating the optimum power curve for individual panel conditions. This does not only minimize efficiency losses in challenging conditions, but also allows for controlling every module individually, ease of plant expansion without the hassle of string re-sizing or panel matching.
Additional features of the device include efficiency ratings of up to 95.5 percent, a rugged outdoor enclosure and HF isolation, allowing it to fit any application requiring the grounding of either one of the input terminations. The micro-inverter is electrolyte-free to further increase the product lifetime and long term reliability and can be easily installed due to a proprietary wireless communication hub and grid interface included in the package. Up to ten micro-inverters can be connected in a string.
Power optimizers like the AURORA OPTI-0.3 perfectly complement all Power-One AURORA inverters as they optimize the energy harvested from each module in an array. Usually, solar panels are joined together in a serial pattern. If the functionality of one panel is impaired, the energy being produced from the entire installation is reduced accordingly. This effect can be significantly lowered by using power optimizers. The AURORA OPTI-0.3 uses DC-to-DC technology to maximize the energy produced by each module within a string as it optimizes the voltage or current for any given weather conditions.
The device helps to minimize loss caused by partial or temporary shading and mitigates PV panel mismatch and to acquire single panel data radio transmitted to a communication hub which is part of the package. This helps installers to create the largest installations possible and increases the return on investment (ROI). The AURORA OPTI-0.3 offers efficiency rates of up to 99.5 percent, a single panel Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT) and a temperature hardened construction.
2011年4月1日星期五
Echelon and Direct Grid bring the benefits of energy control networks to Solar Power
Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ: ELON) announced that Direct Grid Technologies, LLC, a manufacturer of photovoltaic (PV) micro‐inverters for utility and commercial grade solar power generation, will be adding Echelon energy control networking to its micro-inverter products. Micro-inverters convert electricity generated by PV panels from direct to alternating current at the individual panel. This increases the overall reliability and efficiency of the entire solar power installation. By integrating the solar panels into a power line communicating energy control network with Echelon's technology, Direct Grid can offer improved diagnostics, remote management and control, and lower the life cycle cost of the installation. The energy control network can be leveraged by Direct Grid and its customers over the lifetime of the panel installation, even as PV panel technology advances.
"PV panel efficiency is constantly improving but by small increments. Adding energy control networking to our micro-inverter products allows us to address efficiency at a system level and provide substantial additional performance improvement"
As part of its strategy to transform the electricity grid into a distributed, reliable and survivable energy control network, Echelon is working with its commercial customers to inject intelligence into their products so that they can analyze and act immediately in response to dynamic grid conditions to maximize efficiency, reliability and cost-effectiveness. Echelon is focusing this work with companies providing solar power solutions, smart street lighting and building energy management. Today's announcement with Direct Grid is the latest deliverable on this strategy.
"PV panel efficiency is constantly improving but by small increments. Adding energy control networking to our micro-inverter products allows us to address efficiency at a system level and provide substantial additional performance improvement," said Frank Cooper, Direct Grid's president and principal. "Echelon's energy control network multiplies the benefits of micro-inverters and gives us tremendous system control capabilities as well as insight into what is happening throughout the installation – system wide, by rows of panels, and at the individual panel. Efficiency and control are the combination that our customers want."
According to Direct Grid, using Echelon's energy control networking technology was the right choice because it integrates well with other equipment, scales easily and cost effectively to meet the expanding needs of Direct Grid customers because it is more reliable and less costly to install and maintain than competing systems. Echelon's power line signaling technology, combined with its industry-leading SmartServer energy manager, has proven field reliability in the energy industry, delivering exceptional performance in utility and commercial applications with tens of millions of homes and more than a 100 million devices.
Anders Axelsson, Echelon's senior vice president, commercial markets added, "Our energy control networking technology coupled with innovations like Direct Grid's micro-inverters combine control of energy supply and demand right at the edge of the grid, facilitating the evolution of the smart grid. This combination is a big step forward in delivering low-cost, reliable, manageable, renewable energy."
"PV panel efficiency is constantly improving but by small increments. Adding energy control networking to our micro-inverter products allows us to address efficiency at a system level and provide substantial additional performance improvement"
As part of its strategy to transform the electricity grid into a distributed, reliable and survivable energy control network, Echelon is working with its commercial customers to inject intelligence into their products so that they can analyze and act immediately in response to dynamic grid conditions to maximize efficiency, reliability and cost-effectiveness. Echelon is focusing this work with companies providing solar power solutions, smart street lighting and building energy management. Today's announcement with Direct Grid is the latest deliverable on this strategy.
"PV panel efficiency is constantly improving but by small increments. Adding energy control networking to our micro-inverter products allows us to address efficiency at a system level and provide substantial additional performance improvement," said Frank Cooper, Direct Grid's president and principal. "Echelon's energy control network multiplies the benefits of micro-inverters and gives us tremendous system control capabilities as well as insight into what is happening throughout the installation – system wide, by rows of panels, and at the individual panel. Efficiency and control are the combination that our customers want."
According to Direct Grid, using Echelon's energy control networking technology was the right choice because it integrates well with other equipment, scales easily and cost effectively to meet the expanding needs of Direct Grid customers because it is more reliable and less costly to install and maintain than competing systems. Echelon's power line signaling technology, combined with its industry-leading SmartServer energy manager, has proven field reliability in the energy industry, delivering exceptional performance in utility and commercial applications with tens of millions of homes and more than a 100 million devices.
Anders Axelsson, Echelon's senior vice president, commercial markets added, "Our energy control networking technology coupled with innovations like Direct Grid's micro-inverters combine control of energy supply and demand right at the edge of the grid, facilitating the evolution of the smart grid. This combination is a big step forward in delivering low-cost, reliable, manageable, renewable energy."
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