Winners announced for 2018 Intersolar AWARD

For the 11th time, pioneering solar solutions have been honoured with the Intersolar AWARD, presented at The smarter E Forum in Germany this month. The winners will help to motivate the industry to engage in new breakthrough innovations for a renewable energy-based future.

In order to be eligible for the award, innovations must have been showcased at at least one of the worldwide exhibitions Intersolar, ees, Power2Drive or EM-Power, which find their place under the umbrella of The smarter E. In addition, partner companies of the exhibitors were also able to submit their innovation. This year, the award was presented to ABB, Hanwha Q CELLS and Krinner Solar.

ABB: PVS-175-TL inverter

The PVS-175-TL inverter is a cloud-connected three-phase string solution for commercial rooftop applications and utility-scale power plants. The 1500 VDC platform delivers up to 185 kW at 800 VAC, enabling the use of decentralised plant architecture without increasing AC distribution losses. The solution means 35–65% fewer inverters are required for the same overall AC capacity, while maintaining the key benefits of string inverter technology.

By increasing the AC output voltage to 800 V with additional and independent boost-converters, the inverter reduces electrical losses in large PV systems. With 12 MPP trackers, the inverter also provides high granularity, leading to high yields and easy maintenance, while eliminating the need for fuses and combiner boxes. The result is a modular structure that can be steered via Wi-Fi, all while delivering high performance on core inverter functions. The jury was also impressed by the high power density of 1.3 kW/kg and the operating temperature range of -20 to + 60°C.

Hanwha Q CELLS H: Q.PEAK DUO-G5 solar modules

The Q.PEAK DUO-G5 is a 120 half-cell solar module with power classes up to 330 Wp. The module efficiency of 19.9% results from Q.ANTUM DUO technology that combines the latest monocrystalline Q.ANTUM cells with a six-busbar advanced cell interconnection technology design, and smoothly cut edges that improve the mechanical stability of the cells. Both electrical and optical losses that usually accompany cell interconnection are largely avoided.

The solution combines many state-of-the-art technologies in one product, realising a good temperature coefficient and improved mechanical reliability. The modular architecture leads to better resistance to shading and makes Q.PEAK DUO-G5 a drop-in-replacement for standard modules on residential and commercial rooftops.

Krinner Solar: CAS² computer-aided solar structure

This integrated software and hardware package reduces the time for planning and installing large-scale PV plants by 10–30%. This includes the digital design, development and installation applications for all kinds of ground-screw-based solar structures in all soil types. The product combines the data from the surface and the soil in various depths from the surveying phase with the planned foundation of the solar racking systems on variable Krinner ground screws. This database makes it possible to plan — and produce — variable lengths of the ground screws.

Every step of planning, production and installation is reported online and documented in a central database, allowing specified reports to fulfil bank, insurance companies and operator requirements. Mapping data created by drones and surveying robots are used to control the installation robots and vary the length of the screws, reducing steel consumption by 3–6%.