eIQ Energy's parallel solar technology selected for 1.2-MW array at Granite Construction Facility

SAN JOSE, USA: eIQ Energy Inc. has signed an agreement with Granite Construction Inc. to provide Parallel Solar technology for a new 1.2 megawatt solar PV installation at Granite's aggregate and hot mix facility in Coalinga, Calif. Parallel Solar, which allows solar modules to be connected in parallel, offers substantially lower balance-of-system costs and better lifetime energy harvest than traditional series wiring.

eIQ Energy's vBoost DC-to-DC converter modules will be used with CIS thin-film solar modules from Solar Frontier, and will boost the panels' output voltage to the optimum level for the array’s central inverters. Siemens will supply the inverters, which will enable the economic infeed of solar energy into the power grid.

"This is an especially exciting project for us, because it validates the economics of Parallel Solar on thin-film arrays at the megawatt scale," said Oliver Janssen, CEO of eIQ Energy. "We've released studies that clearly show savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars on an array of this type and size, by eliminating much of the wiring, combiner boxes, and installation labor needed for traditional series-wiring architectures. And that's before taking into account the improvements in energy harvest from our integrated MPPT and the elimination of power-sapping interactions between panels."

The solar array at the Coalinga plant will join more than 500 kilowatts of existing solar power at Granite's facilities in California and Arizona. As reported, Granite is moving forward with plans to offset its energy requirements by installing solar power at its construction materials facilities.

Solar Frontier VP and COO, Greg Ashley, added that the project planning process involved close attention to ecological aspects of power generation, as well as economics. "Working with eIQ Energy, Siemens, and Granite Construction, we were able to put together a very strong business case," he said. "Once again, it's emerged that the ecological solution is also the economic solution, and our panels have already begun arriving at the installation site."

Plans call for construction to begin this month. The solar PV system will be operational and generating clean energy later this summer.