Industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation introduced the Power XpertSolar 1500-kilowatt solar inverter for utility-scale, solar applications. The company says the solar inverter converts direct current (DC) power into clean alternating current (AC) and is designed to improve plant levelized cost of energy (LCOE), maximize customers’ energy harvest, operate reliably in harsh environments and adhere to high safety standards. The solar inverter is engineered to reduce installation costs, boost reliability and improve plant uptime.
“Eaton is combining strong design capabilities with an established product platform to deliver a solution engineered specifically for utility-scale solar plants,” said Chris Thompson, solar business unit manager at Eaton. “Part of Eaton’s broad offering of balance of system solutions, the Eaton Power Xpert Solar 1500 kW solar inverter is engineered to help lower cost of electricity by addressing gaps that designers and installers are currently facing in the solar utility-scale space. Customers will now be able to replace three small solar inverters with one larger one – expediting installation and facilitating operations and maintenance work. ”
With a true megawatt inverter platform and unique transformer coupling approach, the Power Xpert Solar 1500 kW inverter enables a skid-less inverter station, reducing equipment requirements and installation costs. Engineered for utility-scale applications, Eaton designed the solar inverter to use an MV pad-mount transformer, which is connected to the inverter via a direct-coupled throat connection reducing cable requirements, pad size and commissioning time.
A fault-tolerant design also helps to minimize downtime and maximize plant availability, while true reactive power (VAR) support at rated power means no power de-rating up to a ±0.91 power factor range. Fault-tolerance is achieved by a unique segmented and fault isolating inverter design, which enables the system to run at partial power in the case of a fault.
The solar inverter is outdoor-rated, 98% efficient and features a wide Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) voltage range. A proprietary Eaton control strategy and optimized filter design optimizes the inverter efficiency, while the wide MPPT voltage range maximizes solar inverter operation time to boost energy harvest.
Eaton Corporation
www.eaton.com/solar
