Energy Storage Grid-Tie Inverters highlight Growing Trend

The announcement by Eaton Corp. today of its new 2-and 2.25-megawatt (MW) Power Xpert® energy storage grid-tied inverters highlights a rapidly-emerging new market segment for increasingly-larger energy-storage systems. Designed to increase electrical resiliency in utility-scale applications, the inverter works with a wide variety of battery chemistries to store and transmit power when needed. The robust inverter design also helps to provide precise power ramp rate control and frequency regulation to enhance the reliability of electrical power transmission and distribution.

“Eaton has deployed multiple energy storage solutions around the world over the last four years and the new Power Xpert storage inverter scales up the size of the platform, providing customers a more cost-effective solution,” said Chris Thompson, business unit manager at Eaton. “The compact technology is designed to help customers leverage a wider range of intermittent renewable energy resources, such as wind or solar, or provide load shifting, ramp rate control and frequency regulation to improve grid stability.”

The Power Xpert storage inverter has the capacity to deliver a reliable power supply of up to 2 or 2.25 MW with a 150 percent overload rating. Providing rapid system response, the Power Xpert energy storage inverter can mitigate frequency changes by pushing and pulling power into the grid in fewer than 8 milliseconds.

The Power Xpert storage inverter can provide reactive power (VAR) support for full 360-degree power factor and power control to accommodate line voltage and frequency sags or surges. The inverter also provides true low-voltage and frequency variation ride through to accommodate online operation on soft grid connections.

The Power Xpert storage inverter is a central part of Eaton’s equipment portfolio for storage applications. When combined in package solutions with Eaton’s medium-voltage transformers, interconnection switchgear and plant controllers, customers can rapidly deploy compact solutions intended to meet a variety of grid ancillary service requirements.

Eaton is leveraging more than 100 years of experience and expertise in utility and industrial environments to bring to market the new Power Xpert grid-tied energy storage inverters. The inverters are based on the same robust circuitry as the utility-scale Power Xpert solar inverter.