ABB Australia announces that the recently developed S800PV circuit breakers have been used successfully in solar power applications in Australian schools.
Designed specifically for the photovoltaic (PV) industry, ABB’s S800PV high performance miniature circuit breakers (MCB’s) and IP65 enclosures are protecting Australian schools’ investment in green energy, including the recently installed 6 kW solar power system at Wenona - one of the leading schools for girls in Sydney.
Wenona’s solar power system is designed to produce a percentage of the school’s energy needs with annual energy production estimated to be 9,729 kilowatt hours. Installed on 45 m2 of roof space, the system has 30 high efficiency 205 W multi-crystalline PV solar modules manufactured by solar energy specialists Kyocera Solar for peak power output of 6 kW.
The array is mounted on engineered, solar specific mounting frames and connected to an inverter via heavy duty USE2 DC solar cable and ABB’s 2-pole S800PV DC circuit breaker. The inverter connects to the electricity network via a digital bi directional meter. System design and installation was completed by sustainable energy consulting and engineering company Autonomous Energy, and an annual emissions reduction of 10.3 tonnes of CO2 equivalent is expected.
Bill Stojanovic, sales representative for ABB’s low voltage products range added: ”As a leading manufacturer of switch products, our vision, in cooperation with our customers and partners, is to further develop products and safe solutions for the solar industry in order to meet new needs and technical requirements.
“We are proud to be associated with Kyocera Solar and Autonomous Energy who have worked with a significant number of leading schools in NSW and ACT. Autonomous have an established track record in installing solar PV systems that have been independently proven to be the highest quality available on the Australian market,” concluded Bill.
Wenona’s solar system began generating power in April and provides energy for almost 1000 students. It is amongst the first PV systems funded under the Australian Government’s $480 million National Solar Schools Program (NSSP). The program helps schools take practical action to tackle climate change by offering grants of up to $50,000 to install solar power systems and a range of renewable energy and energy efficiency measures. The program runs until June 2015 and over 5000 applications from schools have been lodged. Solar energy is clean, inexhaustible and when converted into electricity completely emissions-free.
ABB is a pioneer in solar energy and has delivered extensive power and automation solutions to solar power plants all over the world, including the two largest thermo solar power plants in Europe. ABB supplies a range of products that optimise renewable energy solutions such as inverters, transformers, mini-subs, ring main units, switchgear and wiring accessories.