Every hour, the earth absorbs more solar energy than the world's population consumes in a year. High efficiency solutions for solar energy solutions could provide unlimited clean energy with zero emissions. This PDF document by ABB explains the issues and technologies:
That is why this renewable energy source has assumed a key role in the future of energy policy. Many governments started incentive plans to promote generation and integration of energy into the grid by means that minimise the environmental impact.
Utilities, banks, capital ventures and other players investing on solar power generation face a common challenge: capturing solar energy, a natural and unlimited source of heat and light, through solutions that can efficiently transform it into reliable and profitable electricity.
ABB supplies robots and robot-based systems for solar panel factories, and electrical, control and instrumentation solutions for silicon processing factories, the material that is used to make solar PV cells.
And in smart grids, ABB is at the forefront in developing the technologies and solutions that will make possible the electrical transmission and distribution systems of the future. These systems will integrate traditional types of large-scale, centralised power generation with small-scale, localised types of renewable energy like solar and wind, creating a single optimised network with multi-directional power flows and real-time grid monitoring and market mechanisms.
Since then, we have been involved at a pioneering stage in just about every type of photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) technology developed, be it in Europe, North America, Australia, North Africa or the Middle East. This has given us a unique expertise in how best to harness, control and store solar energy and efficiently convert it into reliable electricity, ready for transfer into the local grid.
ABBs portfolio of products, systems and solutions for the solar power industry is extensive. It ranges from turnkey photovoltaic power plants to complete power and automation solutions for CSP plants and for commercial, industrial and residential rooftop PV installations.
ABB is a market and technology leader Powerful solar inverters - the heart of the power plant in power and automation products, from ABBs range of central inverters is designed specifically transformers, switchgear and circuit breakers to for large-scale PV power plants and rooftop installations in motors, drives, power electronics and robots, industrial and commercial buildings.
ABB offer a complete range of medium voltage and high voltage products such as switchgear, fuses, apparatus, cables or connectors needed in main transformation centre
and the distribution centre of the PV plant. The ABB global leadership and long experience in medium voltage and high voltage electrical installations guarantee that our products offer the maximum electrical safety for the plant and the stuff, while ensuring the minimal lost of energy.
Energy-efficient variable speed drives for solar trackers:
Motorised solar trackers use electric motors and gear reducers to turn the panel. Adding an ABB variable speed drive to the solar tracker provides a soft-start function for the motor, resulting in smoother rotation and reduced mechanical wear, thereby lowering maintenance costs.
By eliminating high starting currents and mechanical shocks through the soft-start feature, the drive extends the life of the system compared to direct-on-line (DOL) motor starting methods. The AC drive consumes only the power needed to turn the panel, thereby keeping the motor at peak energy efficiency.
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