Mitsubishi PV modules used in ASP’s 1MW installation on Somerset Tire Service’s rooftop
July 28, 2011 | Comments Off
Somerset Tire Service’s (STS) Bridgewater, New Jersey distribution center is donning a new 1MW solar installation with 5,488, 185W PV modules by Mitsubishi Electric and installation completed by Advanced Solar Products (ASP). The rooftop solar system is anticipated to produce 1,197MWh of electricity per year.
Solectria supplies smartgrid inverters for Florida’s largest rooftop installation
July 28, 2011 | Comments Off
US-based inverter manufacturer Solectria Renewables has delivered four 266kW SGI 266 smartgrid inverters to BlueChip Energy for what will be the largest PV rooftop installation in Florida. The inverters will power the first 1.5MW stage of the 10MW Rinehart Solar Farm project located in Lake Mary, Florida.
Colexon closes offices and cuts staff in response to poor Q1 financial performance
July 28, 2011 | Comments Off
In response to its disappointing Q1 financial performance, Colexon is undertaking a series of cost-reduction schemes. The austerity plan will see a considerable number of employees made redundant and the closure of the company’s offices in Mainz and Imola.
vogt solar to build 9.5MW PV plant in Vockerode, Germany
July 28, 2011 | Comments Off
Sunspa3 has commissioned vogt solar to build its 9.5MW PV plant in Vockerode, Germany. The system, situated on a fallow industrial site, will be comprised of 40,320 modules, covering an area of 19 hectares and is scheduled to be connected to the grid in August.
Suntech Power panels qualify for Ontario FiT
July 28, 2011 | Comments Off
In an attempt to further tap into the success of Ontario’s blossoming solar industry, Suntech Power is now manufacturing panels that satisfy the local content requirements necessary to qualify for the province’s feed-in tariff (FiT) programme.
Energy Monitoring Made Simpler
July 28, 2011 | Comments Off
July 26, 2011 by Paul Dvorak
Filed under Turbine Sensors, Wind Power News, Wind Turbine Controls
The SNAP-AIPM-3 and SNAP-AIPM-3V can each monitor 480 Vac, 3-phase electrical equipment without need for a potential transformer.
Opto 22 has enhanced the capabilities of its most widely used power monitoring modules to give clients broader voltage input ranges and better resolution for their three-phase power monitoring and energy management applications. The SNAP-AIPM-3 and SNAP-AIPM-3V can each monitor 480 Vac, 3-phase electrical equipment without need for a potential transformer. Both modules accept voltage inputs up to 300 Vac, so 277 volt line-to-neutral signals from lighting systems and other equipment can be wired directly to the module. Eliminating the transformers to step down higher voltages significantly reduces installation cost and complexity.
Additionally, the SNAP-AIPM-3 now accepts current inputs from 0 to 5 A. This improvement doubles the module’s current input resolution, letting clients observe changes in their power usage in higher detail. The SNAP-AIPM-3 is compatible with the most common current transformers-which step down a primary current to a secondary of 5 amps or less-making engineering unit conversion and scaling for the SNAP-AIPM-3 easier as well.
In energy monitoring applications, the SNAP-AIPM-3 and the SNAP-AIPM-3V let building managers, maintenance engineers, and other business stakeholders monitor three-phase equipment power in their facilities. Each module returns up to 14 channels of data including volts, amps, volt-amps, and true power for all three phases, plus true power sums. Clients can use the modules as part of a SNAP PAC System to correlate their energy usage with specific business operations. At that point, real-time data can be used to identify problems and design energy management initiatives to reduce energy costs.
System integrators can use the modules to develop control systems for commercial and industrial clients to monitor and regulate 3-phase power consumption so they can reduce energy usage, avoid peak pricing charges, and lower energy costs. For OEMs, the modules provide a simple and straightforward method for integrating power monitoring and energy consumption into their machine control, establishing an important differentiator in their offering.
For its six wired input channels, the SNAP-AIPM-3 has input ranges of 85 to 300 Vac RMS and 0 to 5 ac Amps RMS. The module offers 12 mV resolution with accuracy of ±0.2 V for voltage inputs, and 200 mA resolution, ± 4 mA for current inputs.
For its six wired inputs, the SNAP-AIPM-3V has input ranges of 85 to 300 Vac RMS and 0-0.333 Vac from current transformers with a 333 millivolt secondary. Accuracy is ±0.2 V for inputs and 13.3 microV ac for current inputs.
Both modules are guaranteed for life, transformer isolated, and (like all Opto 22 SNAP I/O modules) optically isolated from the equipment and devices they connect to, as well as from other modules on a shared I/O rack. SNAP-AIPM-3 and SNAP-AIPM-3V are available at a list price of $495.00 USD each.
Opto 22
NREL confirms new CdTe cell efficiency record from First Solar
July 26, 2011 | Comments Off
Not wanting to be left in the shade this year, after a significant number of record cell and module efficiency levels have been reported across the PV industry in 2011, First Solar has reported that test cadmium-telluride (CdTe) cells, confirmed by NREL (U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab) have reached 17.3% conversion efficiencies. The previous record (16.7%) was actually made back in 2001.
Parabel to install 6MW rooftop portfolio in northeast Germany
July 26, 2011 | Comments Off
Over the next few months Parabel is planning to install PV rooftop systems with a combined capacity of around 6MW in the German states of Brandenburg and Saxony.
New IMS Research report predicts ‘smart’ PV inverter shipments to reach 27GW in 2015
July 26, 2011 | Comments Off
IMS Research has published a new report, “The World Market for PV Inverters”, which projects that ‘smart’ PV inverter shipments in 2015 will reach 27GW, comprising 60% of the market, compared to 20% in 2010. The report predicts that the long-term outlook for the PV inverter industry has an encouraging future with smart invertors making up the majority of the market by 2014 and Europe providing the most demand.
Q-Cells closes sale of 40MW PV projects to DIF,NIBC joint venture Blue Forrest Solar Holding
July 26, 2011 | Comments Off
Q-Cells closed the sale of its Finsterwalde II and III PV power plants to Blue Forrest Solar Holding, a joint venture formed between DIF Infrastructure (DIF) and the NIBC European Infrastructure Fund (NIBC). The two plants have a combined installed capacity of 40MWp, which when added with the Finsterwalde I PV power plant Q-Cells sold in 2010, leads the entire site to have an 82MWp installed capacity.