ABB To Deliver Unique Solar Solution For Costa Rica
ABB has delivered a unique solar solution enabling Costa Rica’s largest solar park to provide a clean and independent power supply to 10% of the country’s population, supporting Costa Rica’s ambition to ensure 100 percent of its energy comes from renewable sources. ABB has supplied its award winning PVS-175 high power inverters to Costa Rica’s largest solar park offering improved performance and helping remote communities across the region become connected to reliable solar power.
With 95% of Costa Rica’s energy coming from renewable resources such as hydropower, geothermal and wind, the country is looking for alternative sources to reduce its reliance on hydropower and safeguard its long-term energy security in the wake of changeable weather patterns.
As part of a visionary energy program involving COOPELESCA (Cooperative de Electrificación de Rural de San Carlos), a cooperative founded in 1965 and the national business consortium for energy, CONELECTRICAS (Consorcio Nacional de Empresas de Electrificación de Costa Rica R.L.) they have been working closely to explore innovative energy projects that can help more communities become connected to renewable energy sources.
Mr Gianluca Pieralli, Regional Sales Manager Americas at ABB said that “Once we saw the project brief and application requirements, we knew the PVS-175 high power inverter was critical to help assure the high-quality yields and sustainable performance through higher voltage and higher power classes. We are very excited to be enabling more Costa Ricans to access solar energy in a reliable, safe and cost-effective manner.”
Taking just four months to complete the high profile solar park, Thesan, a leading EPC (Engineering Procurement Construction) and ABB provided a modular power block PV installation that could be successfully deployed within such a demanding timeframe.
The ABB power block concept at the park included 28 PVS-175 inverters offering complete flexibility and scalability for future projects and improved sustainable performance with increased yields and availability factor.
The three-phase PVS-175 string inverter delivers the largest high-power density within the 1500 Vdc segment on the market with up to 185 kVA at 800 Vac and can achieve an ultrahigh-power density of 1.2 kW/kg.
Mr Maurizio De Donno, CTO, Thesan, said that “One of the key aspects of the PVS-175 is the ability to isolate the system during maintenance. This was critical for us as it means that if one unit shuts down, the others could continue operating at their highest capacity for performance with no single point of failure. ABB’s technical expertise and complete 360 solution meant we could deliver a ground-breaking response beyond customer expectation and create sustainable energy communities for all.”
Source : STRATEGIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE, STEELGURU
