September 15, 2009

Fort Collins, CO, USA: Advanced Energy Introduces 500kW Inverter for European Market

Advanced Energy Industries introduced today the Solaron(r) 500E, a European model of its high-efficiency, transformerless, grid-tie photovoltaic (PV) inverter. Operating at 500 kW, the Solaron 500E enables European commercial and utility-scale PV installations to achieve the lowest levelized cost of energy (LCOE) in the industry by increasing energy harvests and by reducing balance-of-system (BoS) and operating and maintenance (O&M) costs.

Rated at a record-setting 97.5 percent CEC-weighted (97.7 percent European-weighted) efficiency, the Solaron inverter enables higher energy harvests through its robust controls and patented soft-switching technology. The company says Solaron inverter's transformerless design eliminates the need for a step-up transformer and makes it smaller and lighter than competitive products. The design of the Solaron inverter also allows multiple inverter connections to a single medium-voltage transformer, minimizing the number of such transformers required for a system.

Additionally, the Solaron inverter comes in an outdoor-ready IP45 enclosure that eliminates the need for and the cost of additional heating and cooling systems. To reduce O&M costs, Advanced Energy offers industry-leading service and support, including extended warranties up to 20 years and customizable SafeGuard(r) service programs.

"Following the successful rollout of the Solaron platform in the U.S. market, we are pleased to now offer the same industry-leading, high performance features to the European market," said Dr. Hans Betz, president and CEO of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. "We believe our Solaron product delivers the most effective inverter solution and allows customers to achieve maximum power and cost performance from their systems."

Further details about: Advanced Energy Industries