SMA Releases Second-Generation Medium Voltage Block for Utility-Scale Applications

ROCKLIN, Calif. - June 14, 2016 - PRLog -- SMA has revamped its Medium Voltage Block for even greater risk reduction, cost optimization, simplicity and convenience. An integral part of the Utility Power System, it pairs seamlessly with SMA's new line of central inverters: the Sunny Central 1850-US, 2200-US and 2500-EV-US. The Medium Voltage Block is available for delivery and includes the medium-voltage transformer, AC bus bar kit and optional tracker auxiliary rack.

"The new Medium Voltage Block further advances the level of integration in SMA's Utility Power System, creating the lowest-risk, highest-return utility-scale solution available to the North American PV market," said Marko Wittich, SMA executive vice president of sales for the Americas region. "At SMA, we are always striving to develop and improve technologies that not only increase plant production, but also our customers' bottom lines."

The Medium Voltage Block is specifically designed for the unique requirements of a PV application. It is a simplified solution mechanically, based on the layout of a traditional ANSI pad mount transformer, with low-voltage connections positioned horizontally in plane with the output bus bars of the inverter. To enable this shorter connection scheme, the low-voltage connections have been relocated to the side of the medium-voltage transformer, in their own connection flange. All of the necessary hardware for installation, including the busway, bus bars, grounding straps, connection hardware, and transformer monitoring cable sets, are included. These conveniently kitted components offer vastly simplified field integration, requiring as little as one man hour, while eliminating the need for skid solutions that increase the total installed system cost and logistical complexity.

Engineered to minimize risk, the Medium Voltage Block has been fully type tested and validated at SMA's state-of-the-art engineering facility to meet the needs of PV applications with a 25-year service life. Its space-optimized design with a 22 percent smaller footprint reduces shipping costs while fewer components and easy access maximize serviceability. Transformer monitoring, communicated through the inverter MODBUS registries, reports the health of the transformer, including analog values for temperature and pressure, which enables trend-based predictive maintenance that can considerably reduce O&M complexity.

About SMA
The SMA Group with sales of €1 billion in 2015 is the global market leader for solar inverters, a key component of all PV plants, and offers innovative key technologies for future power supply structures. It is headquartered in Niestetal, near Kassel, Germany, and is represented in 20 countries. The Group employs more than 3,000 people worldwide. SMA has an extensive range of products, which offers the right inverters for all module types and plant sizes; for small residential systems as well as large-scale plants, grid-connected photovoltaic systems as well as off-grid and hybrid systems. Moreover, SMA offers system technology for various battery technologies and system sizes and collaborates with renowned battery manufacturers and companies from the automotive industry. The SMA technology is protected by about 700 patents and utility models worldwide. The range of services is supplemented by comprehensive services and operational management of large-scale PV power plants. Since 2008, the Group's parent company, SMA Solar Technology AG, has been listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (S92) and is currently the only company in the solar industry that is listed in the TecDAX index. www.SMA-America.com