Project Name: Testing and Validating a Novel Solar Power Inverter for Micro and Macro Scales
Funding Program: Small Business Voucher Pilot
SunShot Subprogram: Technology to Market
Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
SunShot Award Amount: $275,000
Partner Laboratory: Sandia National Laboratories

Renewable Power Conversion (RPC) is developing a modular inverter designed for solar photovoltaic system applications that range from 20 kilowatts to 20 megawatts. Because inverters affect the overall efficiency and cost of solar power systems, RPC wants to address emerging grid support requirements and plan for corresponding certification tests for its inverter, which it believes could become widely used because of its technological advantages and lower costs. This project will utilize Sandia National Laboratories’ experts and facilities to subject the technology to third-party testing and validation, which will help RPC position the inverter as a reliable and cost-effective product in the marketplace.

Approach

RPC developed its solar inverter technology through an award with the SunShot Incubator program. Their Macro-Micro inverter is a modular, 17 kilowatt inverter that provides highly efficient maximum power point tracker, which maximizes the energy available from the connected solar module arrays at any time during its operation. Power is converted with an efficiency of 98.5%. This distributed multi-string inverter provides multi-megawatt PV projects with a lower levelized cost of electricity compared to large central inverters.

Innovation

The Macro-Micro inverter has broken technological records for inverters, including recording the highest direct-current input voltage, the highest single-conversion grid-tie voltage, the highest power density per unit volume, the highest power density per pound, and the longest calculated maintenance-free lifetime. Further testing and validation—particularly with regard to thermal performance, maximum power point tracking precision, and compatibility with emerging grid requirements—could allow RPC to scale up and market the inverter to a wide variety of customers.