ABB Announces Photovoltaic Concentrating Solar Power System

"For utility-scale projects, customers are asking for a fully integrated solution and the long-term stability and support that ABB can provide," said Bob Stojanovic, ABB director of Solar Power solutions, North America. "With this turnkey CPV system and our power generation experience, we believe ABB has the most complete and compelling solar power solution in the industry."

When compared to traditional silicon or thin-film photovoltaics, concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) systems can produce 30-40 percent more energy over the course of a year. They are particularly effective in areas of high DNI (direct normal irradiance, a measure of sun strength), typical of the warmer and sunnier regions of the world where the majority of growth is expected for solar power. In these areas, this high performance CPV system delivers more energy in a smaller land area and at a lower cost than any other photovoltaic technology.

ABB is in a unique position to provide a complete, sun-to-grid solution. The system includes modules, trackers, and inverters. It also includes ISIS® (Intelligent Solar Information System) energy management software, which provides easy, remote monitoring and control of a virtually unlimited number of sites from anywhere on the Internet. ABB offers a full line of equipment for electric power and control, grid interconnection, and EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) services, making them a single source for power generation plants.

While Intersolar North America will be the first public display of the system in the US, the CPV system was introduced to invited utility, large commercial and industrial customers at ABB’s Automation and Power World in Houston in May. It was well received and ABB is already working on projects in the US Southwest, Mexico, Peru, Chile, the Mediterranean, Africa, Australia, and the Middle East.

ABB is committed to providing clean, affordable and reliable power solutions for its customers. Many of its customers have growing demand for renewable energy, including solar. To meet their needs, ABB has developed a diversified solar portfolio, which includes products, systems and solutions including PV, CSP, and now CPV technologies.

The CPV system is a result of ABB’s investment and strategic partnership with GreenVolts, Inc., a pioneer in turnkey solar systems, which was announced in December 2011. The systems are modular and scalable for a variety of commercial and industrial applications including distributed loads of less than 1 MW or for multi-megawatt utility-scale installations. More than a dozen systems are installed and operating throughout the US Southwest.

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