Swedish company Kraftpojkarna has set a new record for the largest solar park on trackers in Scandinavia.
The 1MW Solparken solar farm is located along a one kilometre stretch of the E18 highway between Vasteras and Anyang in Sweden. It consists of 91 solar trackers, each 72 square meters. 36 solar panels are mounted on each tracker.
While situated close to the road, the arrays aren’t expected to accumulate significant road grime and exhaust deposits due to high rainfall in the area that will help the solar panels clean.
The arrays were called “signposts of the future” by Information Technology and Energy Minister Anna-Karin Hatt when the project was officially opened last month.
The facility incorporates more than 3,300 SolarEdge power optimizers and 62 SolarEdge inverters. The power optimizers provide module-level monitoring and control that results in higher system uptime and reduced operating and maintenance costs. Kraftpojkarna says SolarEdge’s technology will provide a 10% boost in electricity production compared to traditional string inverter technology.
The Kraftpojkarna system will generate an estimated 1,200 megawatt hours of electricity annually, which will be purchased by local utility MälarEnergi under a long term power purchase agreement (PPA).
Panel level add-on electronics such as micro-inverters have already had their day in the sun so to speak and power optimizers look set to have theirs; with high profile installations such as Kraftpojkarna’s generating more interest in the concept.
“We are looking forward to a long-term and mutually beneficial partnership with Kraftpojkarna,” stated Joachim Nell, SolarEdge’s General Manager of Central Europe. “This solar park is part of the global trend of using module-level optimization in large systems.”
Founded in 2006, SolarEdge established the DC power optimizer segment and is the sector leader with 70% market share. SolarEdge has shipped more than 3,000,000 optimizers and 100,000 inverters to 50 countries; including Australia. The company, which employs approximately 280 people globally, received the 2012 Intersolar Award for Innovation in the Photovoltaic category.
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