“Intersolar Europe was a great success for SMA. Our partnership with Siemens in the field of large-scale PV power plants was well received from all parties. The Medium Voltage Power Station 2200SC/2500SC, which we presented at our booth as our first collaborative technological solution, proved to be a crowd-puller. Moreover, our comprehensive system solutions for all other areas of application in photovoltaics also met with great interest among attendees,” said SMA Chief Technology Officer Jürgen Reinert. According to the company, more than 1,000 visitors came to the SMA booth during the trade fair.
Unique power density and compactness in a standard container
The SMA Medium Voltage Power Station 2200SC/2500SC for direct voltages of 1000/1500 volts, developed in cooperation with Siemens, can be used in large-scale and extremely large-scale PV power plants worldwide, is suitable for outdoor installation in all ambient conditions, and thanks to its power density and compact design, which are unique on the market, it reduces transportation, installation and operating costs. “All components of the container solution are perfectly coordinated with each other, preassembled and tested. The amount of work required for connection on-site is minimal. We thereby enable our customers all over the world to implement large-scale photovoltaic projects with maximum overall efficiency and a high return on investment in the shortest possible time,” said Boris Wolff, Executive Vice President of the SMA Utility business unit.
High self-consumption and intelligent energy management for residential PV systems
With the Sunny Boy 1.5/2.5, SMA presented a completely new inverter for small PV systems that enables a high level of self-consumption and is very easy to integrate into a home network. Its innovative design, broad input voltage range of 80 to 600 volts and new communication concept offer advantages during installation and commissioning. Thanks to direct communication with the SMA Energy Meter, it is possible to set the limitation to 70%, which is required in Germany, or 0%, if desired.
With regard to intelligent energy management with SMA Smart Home, the focus was on the cooperation with Dutch home automation specialist Plugwise. Aside from complete energy monitoring using compatible SMA radio-controlled sockets and measurement modules that are designed for international use as well as individual monitoring of all key electrical devices, the home automation system from Plugwise also enables monitoring of heating, indoor air quality, indoor temperature and lighting.
High-performance solutions for commercial applications
SMA also presented a new system solution for commercial systems with the Sunny Tripower 60 inverter. It ensures high performance with maximum planning flexibility. Installers benefit from easy commissioning and low maintenance costs. SMA adds to the successful Sunny Tripower (STP) family with the STP 20000TL/25000TL with the new “Integrated Plant Control” and “Q on Demand 24/7” network management functions. As a central communication unit for system monitoring, recording data and controlling smaller-scale commercial PV systems comprising up to 25 inverters, in addition to its existing standard solution for large-scale plants, SMA offers the new SMA Cluster Controller.
For the higher-performance battery inverter Sunny Island 6.0H/8.0H, SMA has developed new SMA Multicluster technology comprising the Multicluster Box 12 and the NA Box 12, which is now also suitable for operating on the utility grid. In Germany, it meets the applicable connection conditions for low-voltage grids (VDE-AR-N 4105) and helps commercial applications such as supermarkets, farms and other commercial businesses to increase self-consumption using storage systems. These systems can also be connected to a diesel generator to bypass grid failure due to a discharged battery. On an international scale, the Multicluster Box 12 can be used to set up off-grid systems, and when combined with the Grid Connect Box 12, it can form self-consumption and battery-backup systems with an output of up to 138 kW.
Efficient integration of solar power into diesel systems
For even more efficient integration of solar power in diesel-powered grids, SMA presented a further development of the SMA Fuel Save Controller (FSC) for different performance requirements, including the simple and affordable complete FSC M solution for a solar grid feed-in of up to 1 MW of PV power in photovoltaic/diesel hybrid systems, the FSC L solution for solar grid feed-in of up to 5 MW and optional storage integration as well as the customized solution for systems requiring up to 50 MW of solar power. With these solutions, SMA is providing industrial applications without or with only limited access to the utility grid with individual custom-made solutions for a reliable, resource-friendly and efficient energy supply.
Global service including technical operation of large-scale PV power plants
The main attraction in the service business was the offer of Operations & Maintenance. In this area, SMA provides global service in a comprehensive package and takes on complete technical operation of large-scale PV power plants. This includes continuous remote system monitoring, additional services such as regular maintenance and thermography scans as well as vegetation and dirt control. With these services, SMA customers benefit from optimal system operation, the greatest possible yields and maximum reliability. Overall, SMA already performs operations and maintenance for PV power plants with a total capacity of over 1 GW worldwide.
Visit by Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel
At the close of the trade fair, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel visited the SMA booth to learn about the company’s technological innovations. The minister was particularly impressed by the SMA solutions for storage technology.
About SMA
The SMA Group with sales of more than €800 million in 2014 is the global market leader for solar inverters, a key component of all PV plants and offers innovative key technologies for future power supply structures. It is headquartered in Niestetal, near Kassel, Germany, and is represented in 21 countries. The Group employs more than 4,500 people worldwide. SMA’s broad product portfolio includes a compatible inverter for every type of module on the market and for all PV system sizes. The repeatedly awarded product range includes system technologies for grid-connected photovoltaic systems as well as off-grid and hybrid systems. The technology is protected by more than 550 patents. The range of services is supplemented by comprehensive services and operational management of large-scale PV power plants. Since 2008, the Group’s parent company, SMA Solar Technology AG, has been listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (S92) and also in the TecDAX index.
Disclaimer:
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