Power conversion technology provider Ampt has received an order for its String Optimizers to power a large solar-plus-storage plant with an energy capacity of 600MWh in California.
The Colorado-based firm will provide its Ampt String Optimizers to connect the PV system to 600MWh of energy storage through a shared DC bus. The plant will supply power to the California grid operated by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO).
The nameplate power of the solar PV array is 380MW, making this the company’s largest project order to-date. In July, it delivered 240MW of its String Optimizers to Latin America’s largest solar-plus-storage project in Chile, as reported by Energy-Storage.news’ sister site PV Tech.
Ampt String Optimizers are DC/DC converters that improve system performance by applying maximum power point tracking (MPPT) to each string of PV modules and then delivering that full power at a high and fixed voltage, whereas other systems suffer from a variable and lower voltage, the company claimed.
It added that this reduces the requirements of entire systems, which then lowers the costs of electrical components such as cables, battery converters and inverters, and that the predictable DC bus voltage also simplifies battery and inverter controls to improve grid responsiveness of the power plant assets.
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