SatCon Technology Corporation (Nasdaq NM: SATC), a developer and manufacturer of power electronics and motors for the alternative energy markets, announced it has launched its 500kW PowerGate(TM) inverter. This was one of SatCon’s major R&D milestones for 2006, and positions SatCon as the leading provider of high efficiency inverters for the rapidly growing solar markets. The 500kW AE-500-60-PV-A utility-grade PV inverter is listed to the UL 1741 Standard and received approval from the California Energy Commission (CEC). The acceptance of this inverter by the various agencies not only gives SatCon the largest commercial PV inverter in North America, it also gives SatCon the broadest product line in the commercial photovoltaic inverter market – ranging from 30kW to 500kW – with 13 designs now approved and listed by the Consumer Energy Center.
Said Millard Firebaugh, SatCon’s President and COO. “In the past two years, SatCon has established itself as a major player in the rapidly emerging solar industry with approximately 14 MW of inverters shipped to-date. This unit gives us a unique position in North America as the only supplier who can offer units of this scale for large, commercial installations. The average size of our PV units shipped is over 100kW per unit, underscoring our presence in the high-end commercial solar markets. We have already shipped the first 500kW unit and we currently have orders in-house for additional units.”
The PowerGate(TM) inverter family offers the highest average efficiencies across the product line for any line of commercial PV inverters. The 500kW PowerGate(TM) unit is rated for 95% efficiency at nominal voltage, a huge advantage for large power installations. It is currently available as a 480V, 60-hertz unit with integrated transformer, or without transformer for incorporation into medium voltage power systems.
SatCon also designs and builds inverters for fuel cells, wind turbines, plasma based converter systems, and advanced energy storage applications.
Loading...