The new solar energy systems, with a total capacity of 690 kilowatts, are connected to the electrical grid through existing 2-megawatt wind turbines, without their own inverters. A 10 MWh redox flow battery completes the system.
Photo: Fraunhofer ICT/Baiwa Re
German renewable energy developer Baywa re and Ampt, a DC optimization company for large photovoltaic systems, has launched a system for direct coupling between photovoltaics, wind energy and battery storage within a microgrid on the campus of the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT). In Pfensthal (Germany).
Baywa reinstalled three new rooftop photovoltaic systems and one new ground-mounted system to enhance them. They have a total power of 690 kilowatts and are connected to the electrical grid through an existing 2-megawatt wind energy system without their own transformers. A 10 MWh redox flow battery completes the system.
Ampt String Optimisers are DC converters that perform Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) and prevent power loss due to voltage and technology variations. Using a single MPPT string, Ampt optimizers reduce energy loss caused by shadows from surrounding buildings on the Fraunhofer ICT campus. Optimization tools are programmable and provide chain-level data, improving visibility into system operation, as well as operability and maintainability.
“Ampt technology has greatly simplified a very technically complex project,” explains Andrea Grotzky, Global Director of Energy Solutions at Baywa re. “The way we integrate solar panels into an existing wind energy and battery storage system is unique.”
For his part, Levent Gün, CEO of Ampt, explains, “Combining rooftop and ground-mounted solar panels with seven different orientations and two module sizes in a combined microgrid with wind energy and batteries is a big challenge.”
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