New Industry Products

Xantrex & Schneider Electric Introduce Solar Power Conversion Substations To North America

March 12, 2009 by Jeff Shepard

Xantrex Technology Inc., a subsidiary of Schneider Electric, announced the launch of the Solar Power Conversion Substation (SPCS) for the North American market. The SPCS is a pre-wired equipment package specifically designed to meet the growing demand of large scale grid-tied solar farms and large commercial rooftop solar installations.

The SPCS typically consists of Xantrex solar power inverters, dc combiner boxes, step-up transformers and a medium voltage switch housed in a prefabricated building to allow quick field wiring from both the solar arrays and the utility grid connection point. Other items can be added to the package including climate controls, security equipment, array string monitoring, SCADA monitoring equipment, and power metering. Custom designs are available using Xantrex GT500-MV, GT500E or GT250 inverters.

Xantrex inverters convert the dc energy collected by solar panels into high-quality ac power at low voltage. The transformer in the SPCS converts the ac power so it can be directly transferred to the utility grid. The Xantrex GT500E is a 1000 volt dc inverter used for "behind the fence" installations in North America, and the GT500-MV is Xantrex’s newest 600Vdc inverter.

"The SPCS will allow customers to reduce total electrical installation cost and project cycle time by up to 15%," says Rudy Wodrich, Business Development Director for Xantrex Technology Inc. "The old method of inter-wiring the electrical equipment on the jobsite was often inefficient and difficult to coordinate the delivery of components from multiple vendors. Now Schneider Electric / Xantrex offers customers one reliable solution from a company with over 100 years of experience designing electrical distribution and control systems. In addition, by placing the inverters into a structure with a controlled environment, customers can use the products in harsh desert climates where many future large scale solar projects are planned."