Power-One intros 1.4MW solar power inverter for large commercial and utility-scale apps

INTERSOLAR EUROPE 2011, MUNICH, GERMANY: Power-One Inc. has introduced its new AURORA ULTRA-1400 central inverter with an output power of up to 1.4MW.

This liquid-cooled inverter is the largest product in the Power-One RE offering and has been designed for large commercial and utility-grade installations. Industry-leading power conversion efficiencies of up to 98.7 percent combined with an extra wide input voltage range and multiple MPPT channels optimize energy harvesting across a wide array of operating conditions.

The main feature of the new system is represented by its IP65 enclosure with passive liquid cooling with total segregation of internal compartments that extends the maintenance cycle and reduces the cost of maintenance. The product is equipped with internal recombiner compartment with up to 24 individually fused inputs. Thanks to its innovative circuit topology the output voltage is 690Vac which allows a significant reduction of AC losses and the possibility of direct coupling with LV/MV standard transformer used in the large wind industry.

Since its modular structure is made of front accessible and extractible sub-assemblies, installation and maintenance procedures are rather easy. This large inverter system can be monitored via Ethernet communication and two independent RS-485 communication interfaces for inverter and intelligent string combiner monitoring. The new product is compliant to BDEW (German Federal Association for Energy and Water) and FERC 661 (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission).

"Our modular central inverter designed for large commercial and utility applications increases uptime and energy harvesting through a reduction in downtime caused by the failure at the inverter level or the photovoltaic field as well as a significant reduction of the cost of BOS," said Paolo Casini, VP, Product Marketing at Power-One. "This eliminates plant shutdown, reduces repair time and consequently offers financial benefits in terms of production."