Bonfiglioli USA, a Kentucky-based subsidiary of Bonfiglioli Group, is pleased to announce its successful installation and commissioning of the 2.28-MW PV Brighton Solar Energy Project for Samuel Engineering (SE) in Thornton, Colo. The ground-mounted solar energy plant was commissioned December 7, 2012.
For this project, Bonfiglioli USA supplied a fully integrated 1.834-MW RPS Station which included two 917-kW RPS TL-UL modular inverter systems inside a factory built eHouse and a 2.0-MVA medium-voltage step-up transformer.
Bonfiglioli USA is proud to be the first to offer one of the most unique solutions to the North American market with its 1,000-V DC, UL-Listed, modular, multi-MPPT inverters for ungrounded arrays. The modularity of the multi-MPPT architecture ensures maximum energy harvest by increasing availability and lowering failure sensitivity. These features will decrease the overall costs of the plant while increasing revenue by providing for very high overall system efficiency.
Samuel Engineering provided all engineering, procurement and construction management services from feasibility through commissioning, as well as setting up O&M services for this unique fast-track project. At the time of commissioning, this was the only 1,000-V, floating array inspected and approved by the State of Colorado and was the largest PV power plant in the state directly tied to the distribution system.
“Bonfiglioli USA is pleased to have collaborated with such a valuable partner as Samuel Engineering and to contribute to the successful execution of this project,” said Greg Schulte, President of Bonfiglioli USA. “We are proud to be part of this milestone project and look forward to successful implementation and operation of the project for many years to come.”
From David Thorn, Samuel Engineering Project Engineer: “The initial interest in the Bonfiglioli inverters was because the UL listing at 1,000 V was going to be critical for this project. In the end, Bonfiglioli was selected because of the three pillars of project management: cost, schedule, and performance. The centrally located, modular inverter design allowed SE to take advantage of the production and maintenance benefits of a distributed system, at the same time profit from the considerable lower capital cost and ease of maintenance of a central system. In addition, having the array be ungrounded and at a higher voltage decreased both capital costs and energy losses. Bonfiglioli USA went above and beyond in providing customer service, technical support, and most importantly – an on time delivery.”
Nohra Nasr, solar business unit leader for Bonfiglioli North America, commented: “This project once again demonstrates Bonfiglioli’s technical prowess to successfully deliver and install utility-scale inverter power stations in a timely and cost-effective manner anywhere in the world. Our experience and expertise with utility-scale PV provides an added assurance to Samuel Engineering that they will achieve high return on their investment and mitigate any risks involved. We are grateful to Samuel Engineering for their confidence in our ability to be a part of their project and we look forward to working together on more projects.”
— Solar Builder magazine
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