NEWS I REVIEW PV powers into French grid
THE power plant controller skycontrol has been installed in a PV installation that feeds directly into France’s 63 kV high- voltage grid. Drawing from experience in the control of utility-scale PV plants connected to medium-voltage grids, Berlin-based company skytron energy fine tuned the plant controller of the 34 MWac PV power plant in the south-west of France to the stringent grid connection specifications of RTE, the French transmission system operator.
The four plant sections spaced from each other as far as 30 kilometres require active compensation of the reactive power load caused by long cable lines. Another trying task is the injection of reactive power into the grid for voltage stabilization, and this even at nights when no power is being generated. This is ensured by meticulously adapted control algorithms and phase-shift capability of the inverters. A further important aspect: frequency control makes sure that the frequency stays within the predefined characteristics and power generation is throttled in the event of over frequency. During on-site commissioning and on- grid test runs, the controller was finely tuned to follow a comprehensive plant simulation model.
“First we were a little apprehensive. For everybody involved, these control requirements meant treading new trails”, admits Gerald Freymann, Technical
Masdar PV supplies modules
in Northern India THE emerging solar market in India represents an important sales area for Masdar PV, the innovative producer of large-area thin-film photovoltaic products. Recently, a ground-mounted solar park with a total capacity of 1MW was built in Roorkee, about 180 kilometers north of New Delhi. Around 11,000 thin-film modules from Masdar PV are now feeding electricity from a renewable resource into the local power grid there. Metro Frozen Pvt Ltd is the park’s operator and the investor.
Manager of GP Joule, the EPC contractor for the entire project. “But our minds were quickly set at rest by the flexibility of the controller.”
Following this successful completion of controlled PV power feed-in, skytron energy GmbH is now installing another power plant controller in a 40 MWp project in the south-east of France, this time injecting into RTE’s 225 kV grid.
“We are happy at the growing importance of PV power plants connected to France’s high-voltage grid. With the provision of PV power we make an important contribution to grid stability,” said Marco Wirnsberger, MD of skytron energy.
aleo solar AG closes plant in Spain
ALEO SOLAR will close its plant in the Spanish village of Santa Maria de Palautordera by the end of this year, at the latest. The Supervisory Board of aleo solar AG has approved the corresponding decision of the Management Board.
“Against the background of global overcapacity and ongoing price war on the photovoltaic market, the ultimate objective is to utilise our capacity of 280 megawatts in Prenzlau. We have to concentrate the production of aleo modules at our main plant”, says York zu Putlitz, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of aleo solar AG. The 92 employees of Santa Maria de Palautordera plant are affected by the closure of this location. The company shall immediately approach the works
council to negotiate a social compensation plan for the employees.
“I regret that the company can no longer employ the workers in Spain”, says zu Putlitz. “The only alternative to closure would have been a substantial increase in the capacity at Santa Maria de Palautordera.”
This could not have been implemented economically due to the global overcapacity in module production. The plant in Spain has a production capacity of about 20 megawatts. The Spanish photovoltaic market, which had already collapsed in 2009, has come to a complete standstill since the Moratorium for Renewable Energy Incentive Programmes of January 2012.
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www.solar-international.net I Issue V 2012
Masdar PV’s well tested, 1.4 m2 large a-Si modules are in use in the plant, covering an area of about 25,000 m2 in the Indian district of Haridwar, two- hours drive south from the Himalayas. It was above all the products’ characteristics, particularly advantageous in conditions like those on the Indian subcontinent that won over the plant’s Indian investor and operator. The local conditions play directly to the strengths of Masdar PV’s technology, because the thin-film products from Masdar PV provide constant energy yields even in diffuse light conditions and high ambient temperatures. So the new solar park can produce green energy for around 2,600 households, thus contributing to a secure and decentralized power supply for the region.
Masdar PV GmbH develops and produces innovative thin-film solar products and solutions. The company is part of the Masdar Power business unit and is a 100 % subsidiary of Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s multifaceted initiative for innovative renewable energy technologies, launched and owned by Mubadala Development Company.
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