Enabling Rapid Design of Lower Cost, Higher Performance Utility-Scale PV Systems

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 21, 2014 -- Bonfiglioli Vectron GmbH today released reference designs for PV systems using its RPS TL Ampt Mode inverter series for the North American market. The optimized reference designs – for 2 and 3 megawatt (MW) block sizes – help system designers more rapidly construct their systems in a way that costs less using a combination of Ampt Mode Bonfiglioli inverters with string optimizers from Ampt, LLC. Ampt DC optimizers increase PV plant performance at lower total system cost.

"The combined Bonfiglioli-Ampt offering is new to the North American market and we wanted to show integrators just how simple and cost effective it is to design," said Robert Lenke, head of product management of Bonfiglioli's Renewables Business Unit. "We have released these optimized system reference designs to make the design work easy on our customers."

The Bonfiglioli Ampt Mode inverter is configurable from 500 to 1750 kilowatts (KWac) with fully integrated utility-scale stations available in sizes ranging from 2 to 3 megawatts (MWac) when deployed with Ampt string optimizers. This power increase means up to 33 percent fewer inverter stations in a system and significant cost savings.

Ampt string optimizers perform maximum power point tracking (MPPT) on every 3-4 kW to enhance performance. Systems with Ampt are designed with double the number of PV modules per string to eliminate 50 percent of the combiners, wires and related labor compared to systems without Ampt.

Integrators that are used to using 2 MW inverter block designs now have a lower cost, higher performance reference design using the Bonfiglioli Ampt Mode RPS TL inverter. The 3 MW reference block design recognizes that many integrators prefer even larger block sizes, which this solution uniquely enables while still lowering the cost of DC balance-of-system (BoS) electrical components and maintaining best practices for design that minimize wire losses.

"The flexibility of Bonfiglioli's inverter design, combined with its ability to be deployed in station sizes up to 3 MW when deployed with Ampt string optimizers, are unique to the market," said Levent Gun, CEO at Ampt. "The solution provides our customers with a true cost and performance advantage."

Bonfiglioli will be exhibiting at Solar Power International, taking place October 20-23, 2014 in Las Vegas at booth number 542. For more information on the Bonfiglioli RPS TL inverter series, please visit bonfiglioli.com. For more details on Ampt's string optimizer offering, please visit ampt.com.

Bonfiglioli and Ampt are steering committee members of the HDPV Alliance, whose mission is to lower PV energy costs using distributed DC power management. The HDPV Alliance uses defined standards, tested compatibility and shared best practices to enable members across the PV value chain to deliver products and services that optimize PV systems. HDPV-compliant systems lower total system costs while increasing performance.

About Bonfiglioli
The Bonfiglioli Group, now present in over 80 countries worldwide, has been offering complete solutions for the industrial and renewable energy sectors since 1956. Thanks to years of continuous investment, Bonfiglioli is one of the top players in solar energy generation today. Bonfiglioli Vectron designs and manufactures highly innovative inverter solutions for photovoltaic applications at its center of excellence in Krefeld, Germany. Bonfiglioli offers tailored solutions, whose strength lies in the advanced content of each product and the intelligent integration of different technologies. In addition to products of certified quality, Bonfiglioli customers benefit from an extensive sales network and impeccable pre-sales and after-sales service to create the world's top solar energy installations. Bonfiglioli offers the capacity and financial stability necessary to guarantee worldwide service and assistance for the entire lifetime of your installation. To learn more, visit http://www.bonfiglioli.com.