Large portions of uncooked supplies, reminiscent of copper and aluminum cables, are required for the power system transformation when connecting renewable turbines to the grid. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE sees an important potential for storage with increased system voltages and plans the primary pilot PV energy vegetation with this know-how.
In an effort to decrease the demand for uncooked supplies amid the continued enlargement of photovoltaics, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE is taking a look at a greater strategy to transfer from low to medium-voltage. degree of PV energy vegetation.
Working with industrial companions, the institute plans the primary pilot energy vegetation with this know-how and goals for a large market launch. At the beginning of its new analysis subject, “Medium Voltage – A Resource-Efficient Way to Interconnect,” Fraunhofer ISE will current the world’s first medium-voltage PV string inverter and a Smarter medium-voltage battery inverter. E commerce honest. in Munich (June 19-21).
Fraunhofer ISE
Around 73 TW of PV capability alone will must be put in worldwide by 2050, the institute says. “This will result in a larger demand for uncooked supplies: According to the ‘Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2024’ of the International Energy Agency, the demand for copper will exceed the introduced provide from 2025.”
“Increasing the system voltage helps cut back this demand, because the corresponding discount in system present can result in vital financial savings in uncooked supplies,” explains Andreas Hensel, group supervisor for High Power Electronics and System Technology at Fraunhofer ISE.
For instance, rising the output voltage from 800 VAC to 1,500 VAC ends in a 75% financial savings in cable cross-section with the identical energy. It can also be usually simpler to put and join smaller cable cross-sections, thus decreasing set up prices. “Now that PV module prices have fallen by 90% since 2010 attributable to technological advances and economies of scale, set up and steadiness of system parts have turn out to be the most important levers for financial savings ,” added Hensel.
“The step from low to medium voltage may also enhance the ability output of the subsystems: At an output voltage of 1,500 V, 10 to 12 MVA is feasible in a transformer as an alternative of three to five MVA per transformer that’s nonetheless frequent right now,” Fraunhofer ISE notes. “Thus, fewer transformers and switchgear are wanted for energy vegetation with medium voltage connections. This will cut back the price of development and set up.
The transition to medium voltage has been made attainable by the event of high-voltage silicon carbide (SiC) parts with excessive switching speeds. SiC parts as much as 3.3 kV at the moment are obtainable available in the market.
Fraunhofer ISE final 12 months created the world’s first medium-voltage photovoltaic (MS-PV) string inverter as a part of its MS-LeiKra mission and efficiently put it into operation on the grid. A two-stage inverter has an output voltage of 1,500 VAC at an influence of 250 kVA.
“We have proven that the technological course is about for the transition to medium voltage,” says Christian Schoener, supervisor of the Medium Voltage mission at Fraunhofer ISE. “Due to the massive enhance in demand for uncooked supplies, we’re satisfied that the query is not if the medium voltage know-how might be launched, however who would be the first gamers on this promising market.” The institute is at the moment planning its first PV pilot system primarily based on the MS-PV string inverter.
During the MS-PV workshop final April, a European consortium was fashioned consisting of representatives from all areas of the massive PV sector. The consortium is engaged on setting the technological and normative necessities vital for the bounce to medium-voltage know-how. “As a powerful consortium open to further contributors, we are able to deal with present obstacles collectively and obtain optimization of the complete energy plant,” added Schöner.
“Utility-scale PV energy vegetation are only the start: Charging infrastructure, industrial grids, massive warmth pumps, battery storage techniques, electrolyzers and wind generators are additionally attention-grabbing utility areas for low medium -voltage degree,” the institute defined. “Higher system voltage allows vital materials, price and area financial savings and opens up fully new system architectures for renewable hybrid energy vegetation, whose particular person parts are related through at medium voltage.”
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