August 27, 2001
What’s the Largest Residential-Scale Distributed-Generation Technology?
Pictured above is S&C’s Omnion 100 kW 3-phase photovoltaic inverter, which can be ordered with optional attached AC and DC disconnects, as well as a kilowatt hour meter.
And Did You Know That S&C’s Power Electronics Division Has a 20-Year History In It?
Fuel cells and microturbines are the buzz these days in small-scale distributed generation. And though they hold the potential to change the face of traditional transmission and distribution systems and revolutionize the electric power industry, they may also be the next “dot.com” set of business failures.
But beneath the headlines and Wall Street hype, the photovoltaic (PV) industry continues to dominate the marketplace. For all stationary power applications and sizes, microturbine systems generated about $22 million worldwide in 2000, while fuel cells rang up about double that: $45 million.
How much did PV systems bring in last year? Over $2 billion — or more than 30 times the two of them added together! Of the 288 MW that this $2 billion represents, about half went into the traditional PV applications for remote power — or sites not served by a distribution line — while the other half were for grid-connected applications. Indeed, grid-connected PV has grown from 40% of all PV applications in 1999, to 50% last year, to what will likely be 60% in 2001. How is that possible? It’s because the worldwide PV market is widely expected to double in size from 1999 to 2001, with growth coming overwhelmingly from grid-connected residential sites. (Remote PV applications have and should continue to grow at their own traditional rate of “only” 10%-15% per year.)
S&C’s Power Electronics Division (PED) has a 20-plus year history of making inverters, otherwise known as power-conversion systems or power electronics, for grid-connected distributed-generation systems. PED has been a worldwide leader in the development of grid-connected PV inverters, with an impressive collection of innovative solutions and products. Over the years, PED has produced power electronics for a wide range of distributed generation technologies: photovoltaic, small-scale wind, variable-speed hydroelectric, solar thermal electric, fuel cell, generator, and battery-energy storage systems.
S&C’s expertise in power electronics has brought in applications not only throughout the U.S. but also around the world, in locations ranging from Germany to Thailand.