OREANDA-NEWS. Less than one year after developing and delivering the first 1,500-VDC ProSolar central inverter technology to solar power plant system integrator BELECTRIC, GE’s Power Conversion (NYSE: GE) business has signed an agreement with the aim to install more than 100 of this type of new and innovative inverter by the end of the year. The agreement represents the first step by the companies to join forces in developing innovative solar solutions for the utility solar market.

The 1,500-VDC ProSolar central inverter helps to decrease system losses and balance of system costs as well as reduce operation and maintenance costs. This inverter technology is based on the GE 1,000-VDC ProSolar inverter solution which runs smoothly in many solar plants since 2009 with more than several hundred megawatts (MW) in total.

Central inverters convert DC power produced by solar panels to AC power, which is vital to making solar power a more economical alternative to fossil fuel technologies. Therewith central inverters are key components of photovoltaic (PV) plants.

“This success highlights GE’s expertise, and we are very pleased to cooperate closely with an innovative company like BELECTRIC”, says Stephan Reimelt, CEO of GE Energy in Germany. “Furthermore, this agreement underpins GE’s commitment to deliver innovative solutions and products that are tailored to the needs of the world and German Industry, also to support the successful implementation of the German ‘Energiewende.’”

BELECTRIC has proven its expertise and capabilities numerous times, having connected more than 1 GWp of utility-scale solar power plants all over the world. Since July 2012, the company has installed GE’s advanced central inverter utilizing PADCON’s 1,500-VDC system technology at three of its solar power plants in southern Germany. The plants deliver about 15 MWp of power, supplying more than 4,000 households and saving 10,000 tons of CO2 .

“Our solar plants in South Germany run highly efficient with the GE ProSolar central inverter; we are very happy with their performance and are meeting our goal to substantially stabilize the power grid,” says Bernard Beck, CEO of BELECTRIC. “We are now in a position to take this combined solution to BELECTRIC’s customers to make their power supply more intelligent, more economical, more reliable and more environmentally friendly.”

Inverter Technology – 1,500-VDC Capability

GE’s inverter technology has a long track record of extremely high reliability resulting from the company’s experience in the development of frequency converters for the wind energy, oil and gas as well as metals sectors and other industrial applications.

“The effort to lower the cost of energy production continues, as does the focus on renewable sources of energy. Our 1,500-VDC system is a valuable solution in meeting these efforts to achieve grid parity with photovoltaic systems in certain countries. GE offers customers technology options to support renewable energy policies and push projects that build long-term energy security using solar energy,” said Stefan Franko, leader of renewables for GE Power Conversion. “Reducing the costs of solar electricity generation through continuous innovation forms the basis for GE’s long-term technology development strategy.”