New Industry Products

SMA Expands North American Utility-Scale PV Inverter Line

August 01, 2010 by Jeff Shepard

SMA America LLC, the U.S.-based subsidiary of SMA Solar Technology AG, has expanded its U.S. line of utility products with the Sunny Central High Efficiency (HE) line of solar inverters. The new 500 and 630kW inverters provide integrators, project developers and EPCs with a utility-scale 1000Vdc solution that features the industry’s best efficiency in the medium voltage interconnection category.

The Sunny Central 500HE features a maximum output of 550 kVA, while the 630HE produces 700kVA. Both provide full AC-rated active power while maintaining a 0.9 lagging/leading power factor range while operating continuously at 50°C. By connecting to an external medium voltage transformer to accommodate long distance power feeds to distribution substations, the HE line is well suited for utility installations and industry leading maximum and weighted efficiencies of 98.6 and 98.4% result in an outstanding energy yield.

"The Sunny Central 500HE and 630HE inverters are key components of SMA’s fast-growing, North American utility-scale business," said Jurgen Krehnke, President and General Manager at SMA America. "They demonstrate our leadership position in terms of innovative technology and extensive experience with multi-megawatt projects."

Integrated grid management features such as remote control of active and reactive power, automatic over-frequency response, automatic power factor adjustment, power curtailment and low voltage ride through provide power system operators with essential grid stability tools, making the Sunny Central HE line extremely grid-friendly. Available with a 99% uptime guarantee, the new inverters are also designed to increase ROI for developers by maximizing energy production.

Two Sunny Central 500HE or 630HE inverters can be combined in a packaged solution with one medium voltage transformer to provide a 1.00MW-MV Station or 1.25MW-MV Station, both of which simplify large-scale deployment.

The Modbus® Gateway, OPC/ODBC interface and open SCADA communications allow for easy integration of the high efficiency inverters into existing plant, utility or third party monitoring systems.

"Whether it’s a utility company looking for the best in grid control and reliability or a developer looking for an experienced, bankable business partner, SMA is the solution," said Dave Wojciechowski, Director of Sales for SMA America.