KACO new energy Debuts 1500 kVA Inverter Optimized with Ampt

SAN ANTONIO and FORT COLLINS, Colo. | KACO /AMPT —
KACO new energy’s new blueplanet 1500 TL3 with Ampt Mode®. Used in combination with Ampt String Optimizers, the blueplanet 1500 TL3 achieves a 50 percent increase in rated output power, thereby lowering the specific cost of a system inverter solution by 33 percent.

The blueplanet 1500 TL3 with Ampt Mode is a 1500 kVA transformerless solar inverter with protection class IP 54/NEMA 3R for outdoor use. The inverter is also available as part of a 3000 kVA integrated power station (IPS).

The IPS 3000 TR3 with Ampt Mode includes inverters, medium voltage transformers and SCADA equipment mounting – as well as optional equipment, such as auxiliary power for tracker motors, and external DC and AC disconnects that are mounted together on a single base plate (or “skid”) to create a ready-to-use utility-scale solution. Both the blueplanet 1500 TL inverter and the IPS 3000 TR3 station are deployed with DC String Optimizers from Ampt LLC.

“By partnering with Ampt, KACO new energy has created a solution with the lowest installed cost and smallest balance-of-system (BOS) requirements available in the market today,” said Bill Reaugh, senior director of product management at KACO new energy. “PV systems cost less when designed using the blueplanet 1500 TL3 along with Ampt String Optimizers. Both inverter and electrical BOS costs are reduced.”

Inverter costs are reduced because Ampt String Optimizers put MPP tracking as well as voltage and current output limits on each string of PV modules. This enables KACO new energy’s blueplanet 1500 TL3 inverters to operate with a higher and narrower input voltage range. This optimized input range allows each inverter to deliver 50 percent more power. Increasing the rated output power lowers the inverter cost per watt.

Electrical BOS costs are lower because of the voltage and current output limits of Ampt String Optimizers. This feature allows up to two times the number of PV modules per string compared to conventional systems. This reduces the number of strings and combiner boxes as well as the associated labor by 50 percent.

In utility-scale systems, the medium voltage AC network costs are reduced due to a smaller number of PV power stations. Increasing the size of a standard PV “block” from 2 MVA to 3 MVA reduces the number of medium voltage AC connections by 33 percent on a given PV project.

“PV systems using the blueplanet 1500 TL3 inverter with Ampt String Optimizers benefit from higher resolution MPPT to produce more energy than conventional systems, because the DC optimizers place MPP tracking at the string level,” said Evan Vogel, vice president of sales and marketing at Ampt. “This increased energy, combined with lower cost, provides the lowest levelized cost of energy and the best possible return on PV investments.”

Both KACO new energy and Ampt are founding members of the HDPV Alliance, a commercially-focused network of companies working together to improve PV system return on investment. HDPV, or High Definition PV, uses defined standards, tested compatibility and shared best practices to enable members across the PV value chain to deliver products and services that improve the economics of PV systems using DC optimizers.

About KACO new energy
KACO new energy is amongst the world’s largest manufacturers of solar inverters. With offices in 16 countries, the company offers inverters for every array size from the smallest homes to the largest solar farms of hundreds of Megawatts. KACO new energy USA is based in San Antonio, TX, and the production facilities there, at the headquarters in Germany and in Asia have supplied approx. 8 gigawatts of cumulated inverter power since 1999. The company was the first inverter manufacturer to achieve fully carbon-neutral production and is rapidly heading towards power self-sufficiency. KACO new energy also supplies energy storage systems and battery inverters, as well as inverters for combined heat and power plants and CPV systems. In 2014, KACO new energy celebrated the centenary of the original company which was one of the first suppliers of inverters in the late 1930s.

About Ampt
Ampt delivers innovative power conversion technology and communications capabilities that are optimizing the way PV systems are designed. The company, along with strategic partners in the HDPV Alliance, is lowering system cost and increasing energy generation to improve ROI and broaden the solar market.