N.01 - APRIL 2012
SAVING ENERGY FOR THINGS THAT MATTER
POWER ELECTRONICS, A NEW TOP PLAYER 25 years have passed since Power Electronics began its activities. It all started in an electrical workshop with a tiny warehouse in a non-commercial street of Valencia, where Power Electronics established an import company of soft starters and variable speed drives, which would be sold mainly to the local industry and irrigation communities. At that time almost every induction motor was started up with a direct online starter, which required an inrush current of 6-7 times the nominal current at full load and resulted in a very high electrical stress. Therefore, the market opportunities for such a new technology in Spain were huge and Power Electronics faced a rapid growth by offering advanced import products and establishing the corporate principles, which have driven the company until the present times.
Since we opened up the first branch in Germany in 2002, we have established in eleven different markets worldwide, including a software design department in India
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2012
South Africa, Colombia, Peru
2011
Italy
2010
Brazil
2009
United States, Mexico
2008
Chile, India
2007
Australia, China
2006
Korea
2003
New Zealand
2002
Germany
CUSTOMER ORIENTATION
A PROMISING FUTURE
The early stage as importer of automation products showed Power Electronics the right way to compete in an ever increasing competitive market: the implementation of a customer-oriented strategy. Even though Power Electronics has already accumulated a wide experience as manufacturer of soft starters, variable speed drives and more recently of solar inverters, we continue to be a service company and are proud to have been the first company to offer all their customers a 24/7 hotline, 24 hours onsite assistance, free commissionings and stock of products and components in all the markets with physical presence.
Despite the increasing competition and the worldwide economical crisis, Power Electronics has steadily grown through its sales branches in the most important markets worldwide. Since the first branch was set up in Germany in 2002, the company has opened twelve sales companies distributed throughout four continents. 2012 will see the opening of new offices in South Africa, India, Peru and Colombia. The extension of our portfolio with new products has enabled Power Electronics to offer complete package solutions, which open up great business opportunities not only in our traditional markets, but also in other fast growing markets with great business challenges in the water sector, fuel and oil, mining or infrastructures. Besides the continuous upgrade of our traditional low voltage products with new firmware and mechanical improvements to comply with an increasing number of applications, customer and certificate requirements, we added medium voltage variable speed drives and soft starters in 2010.
Customers no longer look at the technology the product incorporates, but also the company supplying it. Current key factors such as service levels, availability or know-how have been considered the corporate principles of Power Electronics since the very beginning.
FLEXIBILITY AND SPECIALIZATION The company has succeeded in combining an increasing product portfolio with a high level of specialization. We have managed to be more flexible and adaptable while launching new products to meet the market needs. All this have been possible by employing engineers and specialists that have allowed the company to take a step further. Furthermore, the vertical integration of the whole value chain has enabled Power Electronics to take complete control of all the production process and be able to design, manufacture and sell customizable products in a relatively short period of time. In this sense, it is not any more a matter of technology but also the ability to supply customized software solutions, dedicated hardware applications, improved interface packages, highly skilled commissionings or training focused on the end user’s needs. Power Electronics does not consider itself a mere manufacturing company but a service supplier. We do not only deliver reliable and technologically advanced products, we deliver fast and complete customized solutions so that the end user can focus on the core of his business.
But technological developments can not stop if we want to continue to extend our market share. In our ambition to widen our product offer, later in 2012 we will launch an active front end variable speed drive. Our customers are concerned about saving energy but as the total amount of electronic devices increase in every industrial site, they are really worried about the negative effect that harmonics produce. The new launching of the AFE variable speed drive will help us to cover this market segment.
The continuous increase of our product portfolio has enabled Power Electronics to supply fast and complete customized solutions.
It is not only in the industrial sector where Power Electronics has managed to become a top player. The market share of the company in the renewable energy sector has gone far beyond our expectations and our FREESUN solar inverter series was really well received by the market. In addition to our LVT solar inverters with transformer, we plan to launch this year low power transformerless inverters, which will make our LVT more price competitive. Moreover we will introduce to the market a new IP65 outdoor central unit, which will reduce the external dimensions of our current outdoor version and will allow us to easily penetrate overseas markets.
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05 POWER ELECTRONICS in motogp 06 APPLICATIONS
SCREW COMPRESSORS
08 PRODUCT
VS65 HE and HES series
SAVING ENERGY FOR THINGS THAT MATTER
10 OUR EXPERTISE
SOUK TLETA DESALINATION PLANT
11 INNOVATION
GL MARINE BDEW CERTIFICATE FREESUN SMART CONFIGURATOR
14 IN BRIEF NEWS FAIRS
Energy saving is important. And the energy efficiency and the sustainable development are a must if we want to move forward without damaging our planet. But your life is also important. The time you spend with your children is important. The time with your friends is important, your hobbies… Power Electronics supplies reliable, robust and efficient devices, which will allow you to save up to 30% energy consumption. Furthermore, we offer you our Power ON Support philosophy through a high skilled technical department always ready to sort out any need at any time and for free without causing you any inconveniences and concerns. You can now save energy in your company… and put it into your life
WHEN YOU HAVE A GREAT TEAM, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE When everyone gives the very best of oneself. When effort and commitment team up. When you have a great team any challenge is possible. This year Power Electronics Aspar team will compete in the MotoGP category at the Motorcycles World Championship and will do it with two great racers such as Aleix Espargaró and Randy de Puniet. But we also count on your support. Undoubtfully the best team ever.
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APPLICATIONS
SCREW COMPRESSORS Screw compressors usually integrate a distributed control system (DCS), which manages the operation settings and the compressor startup. This DCS also manages the variable speed drive performance, which allows the improvement of the current during the startup and a more efficient flow regulation. In most of the alternatives in the market, the compressors integrate two startup solutions: star-delta startup and soft starter. Although the startup by means of a soft starter avoids a mechanical stress, both the star-delta and the startup with soft starter require inrush currents of 3 to 5 times the nominal current of the motor. In those facilities with high power compressors, the substations suffer overloads and voltage drops. 06
These potential overloads and voltage drops, depending on their severity, might damage other automation and precision systems. Our variable speed drive SD700 series designs a smooth startup ramp V/Hz by means of which, the inrush current to the motor gradually increases up to the nominal rated current. Standard compressors integrate a volume flow control through a slide valve. This system does not allow a significant reduction of the power demand of the motor when the compressor’s flow is reduced. In other words, the compressor operates in an inefficient regime when flow supply is reduced. Our SD700 variable speed drive regulates the compressor’s flow by reducing the rotational speed of the motor and therefore, its energy demand. ENERGY SAVINGS
100% 90% 80% 70% 60%
MAXIMUM MOTOR CARE Variable speed drive manufacturers usually require in already existing freezing facilities the installation of special insulated motors, the replacement of the bearing by insulated ceramic systems, the replacement of the power cables by screened cable with symmetric grounds…etc. This is mainly due to the use of variable speed drives with a relatively high du/dt. All the low voltage variable speed drives based on a PWM technology generate voltage square waves due to the IGBT commutation. The motor, as an inductive load, generates a current sinusoidal wave. The du/dt and the length and type of cable determine the peak voltages that might negatively affect the motor and the common mode currents, which shorten the service life of the bearings. A high du/dt has two negative effects: high voltage peaks and high frequencies. High voltage peaks damage the internal insulation of the motors. For this reason many variable speed drive manufacturers require double insulated motors and short cable distances between the motor and the drive. Power Electronics works with du/dt lower than 500 V/Zs. This way, we can reduce the voltage peaks suffered by the motor and eliminate the damages in the insulation of the motor. High frequency waves also caused by a high du/dt generate radiated and conduced noises. These frequencies cause as well common mode currents, which damage the bearings. Other variable speed drive manufacturers require the installation of ceramic bearings and symmetric screened cable, which help the noise conduction and reduce the common mode currents generated by the irregular capacitance of the cable. Power Electronics has a built-in clamp system and a low du/dt filter (500V/μs), which allow the SD700 variable speed drive to be installed up to 300 meters away from the motor with unscreened cable and without high frequencies. The clamp is an electronic system, which redirects the voltage peaks at the output of the drive to the dc Bus. This way the high frequencies are eliminated.
TORQUE (% Max. Torque)
TORQUE (% Max. Torque)
TORQUE (% Max. Torque)
The compressor regulates the flow through a slide valve, which moves in parallel to the rotor axis and modifies the entry area in the body of the rotors. This technique shortens or extends the compression area of the rotor and makes the compression liquid to flow back to the aspiration zone, depending on the position of the slide valve. Keeping the rotational speed constant will not reduce the power demand due to the dynamic losses caused by the bearings friction or cooling fans and screw friction. The rotational speed is determined by the break-even between the compressor’s resisting torque and the motor torque curve. The motor torque will keep constant if the motor is not equipped with a variable speed drive. The compressor’s resisting torque depends on the gap between the aspiration pressure and the discharge pressure of the compressor and the regulation of the slide valve. The difference in pressure is determined by the process itself (See fig.1). The regulation of the slide valve depends on the flow needs. Thus, the regulation through a slide valve has a minimal impact in the resisting torque that the motor has to overcome. So, even though the flow is dramatically reduced, the energy consumption will not be brought down proportionally. In figure 2, the colored area P1 shows the mechanical power needed with the slide valve opened at 100% and the area P2 with the valve opened at 60%. Despite a flow reduction of 40% the power consumption only reduces 12%. In this case the resisting torque curve keeps constant as it works at 35Hz with a valve opening of 100%. With the use of a SD700 variable speed the frequency supplied to the motor can be modified and therefore the r.p.m. of the motor and the screw. This results in a flow reduction, which is almost proportional to the energy savings. In figure 3 can be observed that a
40% reduction in the flow results in a 38% reduction of the power demand. As most of the freezing facilities do not permanently operate at full load, the use of a SD700 variable speed drive brings immediate energy savings, whose total amount depends on the duty cycle of the compressor.
100% 90% 80% 70% 60%
100% 90% 80% 70% 60%
50%
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T start
10%
P1
20%
Wr
T compressor 100%
ROTOR SPEED (% Full Speed)
Figure 1
T start
10%
10%
P5
Wr
10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
T motor
30%
P2 T start
T compressor 100% T motor T compressor 60%
ROTOR SPEED (% Full Speed)
Figure 2
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10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
T compressor T motor
ROTOR SPEED (% Full Speed)
Figure 3
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APPLICATIONS
STARTUP CURRENT
NEW MEDIUM VOLTAGE SOFT STARTER VS65
PRODUCT
The VS65 series has been conceived with a leading edge hardware and mechanical design to offer long-term performance in customized solutions
Power Electronics has been manufacturing low voltage soft starters for over 15 years and has achieved worldwide recognition for their advanced motor control and protections and for their utmost reliability in high demanding startups. VS65 series is the first generation of Medium Voltage soft starters of Power Electronics and has been conceived with a leading edge hardware and mechanical design to offer longterm performance in customized solutions. The VS65 has been designed as a modular unit with multiple configurations options and a standard input voltage range from 2.3kV up to 11kV. Lower or higher input voltage ranges can be configured upon request. The main features of this brand new softstarter are reliability, robustness and safety. Every single power component is oversized, so that whatever application can be started up while maximizing the service life of the softstarter. The built in Bypass vacuum contactor, which prevents the SCR to operate when the motor runs at a nominal voltage, and a fixed line Vacuum contactor, which avoids the input medium voltage being supplied to the SCR, also help in this sense. Furthermore the softstarter is equipped with built in motor protection functionalities, which offer the same performance as a protection relay (high and low input voltage, motor overload, Shearpin current, rotor locked‌). Therefore, there is no need to invest in motor protections as the softstarter already takes care of it. The VS65 series also integrate as an option an input protection module. It can be configured according to the end user’s requirement, with an automatic circuit breaker or an on load disconnector with fuses. A removable line contactor replacing
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bypass contactor built in the soft starter. Two stopping mode alternatives are available: spin stop, which lets the motor stop freely, depending on the inertia of the application and stop with deceleration ramp, where the soft starter sets a voltage deceleration ramp in order to control the time needed to brake the motor. HARSH ENVIRONMENTS
Harsh Environments and demanding applications are the natural environment for our VS65 series the standard built in fixed one can also be placed in the optional input protection module. STARTING AND STOPPING MODES Multiple starting modes are available. Beside the typical voltage ramp and current limit startups, done by limiting the maximum current supplied to the motor, the VS65 series offers an algorithm called CDP, which allows the motor to be started up with a torque control. It ensures a soft and progressive startup even in high inertia applications. This algorithm adjusts the torque to suit any load, no necessarily linear or quadratic, and allows the softstarter to self-adjust ramp times. The soft starter will never supply more torque than needed and will minimize the energy losses during the startup. Additionally, a direct on line starter (DOL) is possible by means of the
The VS65 soft starter series is the right choice for heavy applications installed in harsh environmental conditions, as it ensures an excellent performance. The natural cooling of all the internal components guarantees the operation temperature at 50ÂşC without derating. Conformal coating is a standard in all the printed circuit boards. Moreover, IP41 protection degree is standard but IP54 is also available upon request. DEMANDING APPLICATIONS The soft starter does not only minimize non programmed stoppages but also combines great safety protections with a very low maintenance cost. This results in great savings and speeds up the return of the investment. Beside this, the control section incorporates specific features used in a wide range of water and pumping applications, which account for nearly 70% of the entire medium voltage soft starter market. Dual setting, water hammer control or no cable length limitation are highly appreciated features in irrigation networks, desalination-, sewage- or water treatment plants. The world market for medium voltage soft starters was an estimated 130 million euros in 2010 and it is expected to steadily grow by nearly 10% until 2015. VS65 is a great alternative to the major market players.
HE AND HES SOLAR INVERTERS
Power Electronics has as a mission to offer top class products together with an outstanding customer care. Driven by this will, Power Electronics implemented since the very beginning a business strategy based on the production of high end variable speed drives and softstarters supported by Power On Support service, which included a 24/7 technical availability and stock of components and equipment for immediate delivery. With the design and development of our new solar inverters series HE and HES, Power Electronics has gone a step further. It was not only a matter of offering great performing products and superior technical assistance. We were aware that solar inverters had to contribute with different features in a global sector dominated by a saw-tooth sales pattern in many markets. During the design stage our engineers had two musts: to avoid under any circumstance non expected stops, which would negatively affect the return of the investment, and an efficient solar inverter which would maximize the yield. These two requisites combined with a corporate strategy based on customer oriented pre- and after sales service, resulted in what we expect from a competitive solar inverter.
MODULARITY
MULTIPLE MPPT
Our modular design prevents the solar inverter from non programmed stoppages. Depending on the required power, the HE and HES series can be configured with a different number of 100kw modules, and an AC module where protections and communications are hosted.
Our HE and HES series allow to configure multiple MPPT (Maximum power point trackings) and adapt the internal configuration of the inverters the needs of the solar project. MPPT is a technique to get the maximum possible power from solar panels. Solar cells have a complex relationship between solar irradiation, temperature and total resistance that produces a nonlinear output efficiency. Basically the MPPT defines the current that the solar inverter should draw from the solar cells in order to maximize the output power. The HE and HES can configure as many MPPT as 100kw modules contain. For instance, one 1MW central solar inverter can have up to 10 MPPT.
The key concept is redundancy. Our modular inverters can be set up with a master-slave configuration. One module operates as a master and the remaining modules as slaves. Nevertheless, all the modules can serve as masters or slaves. If any failure arises in the master module and stops operating, the solar inverter immediately configures a slave module as master, bypasses the faulty one and continues to operate without any derating in the output power, unless the photovoltaic panels deliver 100% of the total dc current. In this case the output power reduction will be proportional to the share of the faulty module in the solar inverter. As an example, if a 100kw module fails in a 1MW central solar inverter, the derating will be of 10%, considering that it is operating at full load. If the solar inverter is operating under 900kw there won’t be any power loss. Our solar inverters never stop and this has a positive effect in the internal rate of return of the project.
The design of our solar inverters has been driven by the will to avoid nonprogrammed stops and the ambition to maximize their efficiency
A multiple MPPT configuration is the right alternative for photovoltaic plants with different irradiation sectors or different kinds of solar panels in order to get the maximum power possible out of them. MAXIMIZATION OF EFFICIENCY The HE and HES series have an efficiency of 98.4%, which results in a very high AC current delivery to the grid, comparable to the efficiency offered by the major solar inverter manufacturers. POWER ON SUPPORT Beside our set of advanced technological solar solutions, Power Electronics offers a superior technical assistance. As a customeroriented company, we have realized that Power Electronics is not only a manufacturing company but a service company. Therefore, all our products and specially our solar inverters are accompanied by our valued customer-oriented service, which includes: • Commissioning included. • Standard Five years Warranty, which can be extended up to 10 years. • 24/7 Hotline, available for all our customers. • 24/7 on-site assistance and repair. • Stock of spare parts. • One week manufacturing time for HE and HES solar inverter series. 2MW Solar photovoltaic plant in Lorca, Murcia (Spain)
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PRODUCT
The key elements of HE and HES: Modularity and Redundance
SOUK TLETA DESALINATION PLANT OUR EXPERTISE
30.5MW of Power Electronics variable speed drives Algeria suffers significant lack of fresh water since most of its territory is classified as arid and semiarid zones. 90% of the population is concentrated on the northern coastal region which represents 10% of the countries area and situated in a more temperate Mediterranean climate. As a “water stressed” country, Algeria opened in the last five years several bids for the construction of seawater desalination plants throughout the coast. One of the biggest desalination projects, with a desalination capacity over 200.000 m3/ day, was planned near the city of Tlemcen in the north-west of the country, very closed to the border with Morocco. The Singaporean company Hyflux, a world leading provider of integrated water management, won the 25 years bid under a BOOT (build, own, operate, transfer) contract and trusted Power Electronics as the sole supplier for low voltage variable speed drives and soft starters. An average temperature over 35ºC in summer, humidity over 80% and a high exposure to sulphydrics made our SD700 series of variable speed drives and our V5 series of soft starters the right choice. Our variable speed drives and soft starters perform at full load at 50ºC and all the electronic components are conformally coated as standard and the cabinets are galvanized for constant operation in harsh
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environments, such as the one at Tlemcen Desalination Plant. The salt residues inside the plant affect all the electronic devices and therefore, the protection of all the electronics is a key factor to extend the service life of the variable speed drives. In addition, our SD700 series incorporate as standard high efficiency ac chokes, which help to mitigate undesired harmonics in the plant facility and dv/dt output filters, which extend the service life of the motors. Furthermore, the poor electric supply in the facility with very high input voltage perturbances has tested the robustness and reliability of our variable speed drives and softstarters The total power installed by Power Electronics amounted 30.5MW, distributed throughout the whole desalination process. The seawater intake stage (pre-filtering and roughing) is done with eight 690V pumps of 650kw, the supply of high pressure pumps (filtering-reverse osmosis) is done with twentythree 400V variable speed drives of 200kw, which move booster pumps. Finally, the treated water is deposited and purified with nineteen 690V 18 pulses variable speed drives of 930kw each.
Membrane used in the reverse osmosis process. View of the Souk Tleta desalination plant(Algeria)
INNOVATION
NEW GL MARINE CERTIFICATE SD700 is ready to sail any ocean The marine industry requires every day higher reliability and cost efficiency. Marine legislation is becoming very strict in the shipping industry. Furthermore, in an ever increasing competitive environment with a continuous fuel increase and a global slowing down of the International commerce, energy saving solutions are a must for the marine industry.
The consumption of low voltage variable speed drives in the marine sector is expected to grow over 25% the next years In this context of increased demand for efficiency in the marine sector, The SD700 series of Power Electronics has been certified by Germanistischer Lloyds (GL), one of the most reputed and strictest classification societies worldwide. With this new certificate, a whole range of possibilities is opened for Power Electronics in a sector with annual growths for low voltage drives over 25%. From now on, our SD700 series is an outstanding alternative in a wide number of marine applications such as fans, cooling systems, pumps, compressors, winches, cranes or bow thrusters. It does not only
enable to install our drives in vessels and yachts but also in harbor cranes, and offshore platforms. Furthermore, this new certificate will allow Power Electronics to closely work with original equipment manufacturers and system integrators involved in the marine industry. We will not only be able to approach a new industrial sector, but also this certificate will allow us to have easier access to other markets, where the marine industry plays a key role. Besides this world class certificate, the SD700 series adds a great flexibility and adaptability to any single application as it integrates advanced applications macros. This results in a stunning customization of the software and an improved performance, which helps to optimize process demands in every marine application. Furthermore, Power Electronics SD700 integrates a very wide range of fieldbus systems and also Ethernet communication, which enables process equipment to integrate with ship control systems. In addition the SD700 series can be equipped with a very wide variety of communication protocols such as modbus, profibus, devicenet or canopen. Harsh
environmental
conditions
in marine applications are really common. All the control devices, mechanical and electrical equipment in vessels, cranes or offshore platforms are exposed to high salinity conditions, sulphydric acid or humidity. SD700 series offers simple solutions, which helps to extend the life cycle of the variable speed drives and therefore, to minimize the maintenance costs and non desired stops. All the electronic components are varnished with a special conformal coating machine, which spreads the varnish avoiding any future air bubbles over the printed circuit boards. These bubbles are one of the main causes of the shortening of the life cycle of pcb’s, as once they break the electronic components are not protected against tough environmental conditions any more. Moreover, our wall mounted or stand alone customized cabinets have also been designed to meet protection standards against harsh environments. In this sense, the use of eletrozinqued steel plates helps to achieve our environmental protection objectives.
Not only the GL marine certificate will allow Power Electronics to enter the marine industry. The SD700 has specific features, which make it the ideal choice 11
BDEW CERTIFICATE
INNOVATION
The BDEW certificate opens great business opportunities in Germany The share of the photovoltaic solar energy consumption compared to the total energy consumed in Germany reached 2% in 2010 and is expected to amount 25% in 2050. In fact, the BMU (Federal Ministerium for the Environment) has set an ambitious target of 5% in 2020, which will result in a yearly installation of 3.000MW of photovoltaic solar plants in the next decade.
Every commissioned grid-coupled solar inverter equipped with a MV connection in Germany must comply with the German directive for “Generator plants on the MV network” and it must be demonstrated by means of the BDEW certificate. This certificate requires the implementation of:
NETWORK MONITORING
GENERATION CONTROL
Therefore, the German market for PV solar energy, which accounted for about the 50% of the total solar power installed in 2010, will continue to be a worldwide key player, not only as an exporter of PV products and services but also as a host country for investment in the solar energy field despite the 15% drop in the subsidies offered by the feed-in tariff and a further drop expected later this year
Solar inverters must control the delivery of active power in case of network congestion or any emergency. The set-point must be reached by all the solar inverters in the plant within one minute. Furthermore, the power generation must be remote-controlled by the grid operator. Power Electronics has developed a ripple-control receiver called PCI (Power Control Interface) in order to meet such requirement. Through four digital inputs the PCI allows the grid operator to configure sixteen different set-points.
According to the BDEW technical guidelines a generating facility must not disconnect if a short-circuit happens. Solar inverters must be able to deliver reactive power during fault in order to keep voltage stable. The recovery of the active current injection after the fault must comply with the following requirements: Reach the pre-fault levels in less than 5 seconds and feeding at least 50% of the available active power during the ramp up.
April 2011 the BDEW (German Association of energy and Water industries) published a technical guideline, which would affect any solar inverter equipped with an MV connection. Power Electronics has now completed the implementation of the unit certificate of the BDEW in the HE and HES series. The project evaluation and certification was managed through the accredited company Möller Operating Engineering Gmbh (MOE).
VOLTAGE CONTROL All the plants are required to deliver reactive power to compensate a potential voltage rise, so that voltage keeps under certain parameters. The minimum value of cosρ required by the BDEW technical guideline is 0.95. Nevertheless, all Freesun solar inverters can perform a cosρ of 0.9. Furthermore, unlike other solar inverters, the HE and HES series allow to deliver the maximum active power available when they are required to supply reactive power. This is possible due to the fact that the 100kw modules out of which the HE and HES are configured, are rated at 110KVA. 100% of active power is delivered and the yield of the solar plant is not penalized. FREQUENCY CONTROL Solar inverters must also keep frequency under 50.2 Hz. Unlike the prior requirements of the BDEW by means of which, solar inverters had to disconnect, now they have to temporary reduce the supply of active power in order to keep frequency under control. They are not allowed to run freely until the grid frequency comes under 50.05 Hz. Only inverters with a high accuracy can observe this requirement.
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BDEW requires the following protections, which are fully implemented in our HE and HES solar inverters: Under- and overvoltage, under- and over frequency. FAULT RIDE THROUGH
The R&D laboratory of Power Electronics headquarters was also furnished to be able to perform all the certification tests in-house. So, the laboratory was equipped with an own “Fault ride through” test bench and an own design of AC and DC controlled power sources, which fully complied with the standard requirements.
The Implementation of the BDEW certificate has resulted in an important product improvement If the photovoltaic plant is equipped with solar inverters bigger than 1MVA or the selected point of grid connection is further than 2 kilometers ahead, the DBEW requires a plant certificate. Our HE and HES series can help the project developer to get the plant certificate. With the HE and HES series BDEW certificate and a performance simulation already verified by an accredited certification entity, the promoter can easily implement a plant simulation based on the number of solar inverter units, transformers, wiring… etc, which will be then certified by the BDEW. The compliance with the strictest and most advanced legislation worldwide will facilitate our solar inverters the observance of other technical burdens while approaching other less demanding markets.
FREESUN SMART CONFIGURATOR
Power Electronics has developed and released the FREESUN SMART CONFIGURATOR (FSC), a new application with which, our solar customers will be able to design their photovoltaic solar plants by themselves, including our complete range of solar inverters (LVT series low voltage and HE/HES medium voltage high efficiency solution). With this new application we provide our customers with an easy to use software an a friendly user interface tool, which will enable them to calculate an optimal solution for any solar facility by defining the total number of PV modules, the distribution, the power ranges and the right output from the solar inverter to the grid in a multiple language solution. The tool is divided into three different sections, which cover the whole process for the optimization of any solar facilities: Dimensioning, Energy and Wiring. Additionally a Summary sheet with all the data and specifications is available to the end user. DIMENSIONING
ENERGY
WIRING
In this section the end user can choose the FREESUN solar inverters and the PV modules to be used from a very wide selection of different manufacturers. Within any manufacturer several ranges of PV modules can be also selected. If the selected PV module manufacturer is not in the list, the user can add it and edit the technical specifications of the PV modules.
FREESUN SMART CONFIGURATOR can also display energy performance and remuneration graphics. When the end user selects the country and the city, together with the selected inclination and orientation of the plant, the software immediately calculates the average irradiation of the area and displays the predicted energy generation in kWh monthly and annually. In addition, the return of the investment can also be calculated by setting the remuneration in â‚Ź per kWh.
FREESUN SMART CONFIGURATOR can also calculate the drop voltage and the maximum current allowed in both the dc and ac area depending on the cable distances and the wiring sections used. The dc area covers the cable distance between the solar PV modules and the string supervisor and between the string supervisor and the solar inverter. The ac area covers the cable distance between the solar inverter and the grid.
Moreover, the end user can choose the country and city, the inclination and orientation of the PV plant, the range of temperatures in which, the PV plant will operate, the number of modules in series and the total number of strings per inverter from a range previously limited by the software tool. With all this information the FSC calculates optimal configurations and displays the electrical values of the PV plant.
This tool will enable our customers to easily calculate the ROI of any solar project
Once the client or the integrator has already selected the type of solar panels, the total power, the location and the temperature operation, the FSC suggests optimal combinations of solar modules and strings.
On one hand, this new software tool will help the end user to easily calculate the yield and assess the feasibility of the investment project and will also. On the other hand, it will facilitate the integrators a powerful tool to calculate wiring sections in both the dc and ac areas.
The FSC displays intuitive graphics with the estimated performance of the project and the estimated yield, according to the feed-in tariff of the country
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INNOVATION
An easy to use software tool for the dimensioning of any solar project
IN BRIEF
POWER NEWS MINISTRO HALES MINING FIELD, CHILE
NEW DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT WITH BEIJER ELECTRONICS
Power Electronics, through its branch office in Santiago de Chile, will deliver all the medium and low voltage drives for the new mining project called Ministro Hales, placed in the region of Antofagasta, in the north of Chile. CODELCO, the National Copper Chilean Corporation, will operate this new open pit mine, which will produce around 170.000 cubic tones of fine copper and 300 tones of silver per year.
Power Electronics and Beijer Electronics Automation have signed a distributorship agreement whereby Beijer will distribute Power Electronics low voltage variable speed drives and soft starters in the Nordic countries. Beijer Electronics is a Swedish fast growing technology company with a wide sales and technical network in the Nordic countries and a large experience with variable speed drives and soft starters. With this agreement, Power Electronics enters the Nordic countries hand-in-hand with the greatest partner.
In a first stage Power Electronics will deliver 18 medium voltage units of the XMV660 Series, ranging from 400KW up to 2.7MW at 4.16KV and small and medium power low voltage and low harmonics 600V variable speed drives of the SD700 Series.
SHAMS 1 SOLAR POWER STATION ,UAE Shams Solar Power Station, a 100MW concentrating solar power station located near Abu Dhabi will be using SD700 low voltage and XMV660 medium voltage Variable Speed Drives. This new plant, which uses parabolic trough technology will be commissioned in the first semester of 2012 and will be followed by Shams 2 and Shams 3 stations. Shams 1 will avoid the emission of 175.000 tones of CO2 per year and will power around 20.000 homes. Shams Power Company is a JV between Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, Abengoa Solar from Spain and the French company Total S.A, which will own and operate the plant for the next 25 years.
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EL REALITO AQUEDUCT, MEXICO
BUSINESS EVENT IN TURKEY
XMV660 and VS65 medium voltage products will help to supply drinking water to the cities of San Luis PotosĂ and Celaya in the State of Guanajuato (Mexico), with a total estimated population of 800.000.
Power Electronics organized a business meeting on the 22nd of February in Istanbul (Turkey), where several companies involved in the distribution of low and medium voltage products were summoned to this event.
Power Electronics Mexico has been selected to equip the aqueduct, which will supply water to these two cities from the Realito Dam, also in construction. Once in operation, the dam will be able to supply 2m3/s to San Luis and Celaya. The aqueduct project is being constructed by the winning consortium formed by Aqualia, Coinsa and Sat.
As a result of this business meeting Power Electronics has appointed TESAN ELEKTRIK OTOMASYON as official partner for the Turkish market. Turkey is a young and fast growing market and we really expect to boost our sales in the following years.
10 MW SOLAR INVERTERS, UK: FIVE OAKS, FRYING DOWN Power Electronics has recently commissioned two solar parks of 5MW each for the branch office in the United Kingdom of the German company Wirsol AG. Power Electronics supplied to each of these solar parks located in Basingstoke and Five Oak five units of its 1MW outdoor solar inverters HES. All the units were equipped with the Free Sun datacenter a datalogger for the monitoring and control of PV solar plants and a pyranometer to measure the solar irradiance.
RENEWABLE ENERGY TRADESHOWS SECOND TRIMESTER 2012
To start with, we will exhibit our products at SOLAREXPO, an international fair for Renewable Energy and Distributed Generation, which will be held in Verona-Italy, a fast growing market in 2011, from May 9th-11th. We will count with a 160sqm booth (C2.1) at Hall 7.
IN BRIEF
Power Electronics will take part in the three most important International Renewable Energy Tradeshows in Europe, which will take place during the second trimester 2012. international exhibition and conference on renewable energy and distributed generation
Verona Exhibition Centre, Italy May 9-11, 2012
From Verona we will fly to GENERA Energy and Environment to take place in Madrid from May 23rd – 25th. There we will show at Hall 8, in a 98sqm Stand (D06). Finally, we will exhibit at INTERSOLAR EUROPE, which will be held in Munich from June 13th-15th. Germany was the biggest market for solar market in 2011 by far and so it is INTERSOLAR with regard to Solar International fairs. It is not only valuable for the German market but also for the ability to summon international PV key players worldwide. We will show there in Hall C3, Booth 160 in a 182sqm surface.
23 - 25 May,
Feria de Madrid
13 - 15 June, Munich
NEW LAUNCHING OF THE SOLAR INVERTER FREESUN HEC In these three tradeshows we will exhibit for first time, within our range of solar inverters FREESUN, our new series HEC. The main feature of this new inverter compared to our series HE is the IP65 protection enclosure, which will enable its outdoor installation without the need to place it inside any cabinet. This new series will be available in a power range within 250KVA and 1250KVA and will display the same features and functionalities as the HE and HES inverters: MODULARITY, REDUNDANCY, MULTIPLE MPPT and MASTER-SLAVE CONTROL SYSTEM.
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