Photovoltaic Plants

1. SOLTEN I

SOLTEN I is a photovoltaic solar platform in the terrains of Granadillas Industrial Estate. The platform consists of 130 PV modules of 100kW connected independently to the low tension electric grid. Each 100kW PV plant is owned by different holders and ITER acts as executor and manager of the entire installation.

Main Features:

The 100kW PV plants of SOLTENI are south-oriented and have an inclination of 10º, which are connected to one transformation centre in groups of twenty.

This installation has used two different providers of PV panels, which give rise to varied plants geometry and different installed peak powers.

	ITER	Kyocera (1)	Kyocera (2)	Kyocera (3)	Soalrworld (1)	Solarworld (2)
Potencia (W)	162	167	170	175	165	175
células/panel	48	48	48	48	72	72
Eficiencia panel	12,04	13,05	13,28	13,67	12,65	13,42
Peso panel (kg)	16	16	16	15	15
Sup. Panel (m2)	1,31	1,28	1,28	1,28	1,30	1,30
Tipo	Polycrystalline	Polycrystalline	Polycrystalline	Polycrystalline	Monocrystalline	Monocrystalline

The 100kW inverters used in the installation are the TEIDE 100 and are manufactured by ITER.

The aluminium support structure has been designed and installed by ITER and is very light, is totally modular and can be dismantled. It is composed of pillars, girders and straps, by means of aluminium sections, concrete foundations and galvanized steel strap. The unions are done with screws and stainless steel accessories.

The structures were installed adapting the pillars to the topography of the terrain, so that very little clearing works were needed. Furthermore, the installations were done with the minimum height required, taking into account the measures for the landscape integration.

SOLTEN 13MW Environmental contribution:

• Estimated Energy production 22.750 MWh/year
• The operation of this plant can supply electricity to 5308 families.

It avoids atmospheric emissions of:

• 18.200.000 kg/year de CO2;  
• 122.850 kg/year de SOx;
• 45.500 kg/year de NOx;
• 2.730 kg de CO;

It saves 1.961.050 Kg/year of fuel.

2. SOLTEN II (7+4 MW)

SOLTEN I enlargement, called SOLTEN II, consists of 3 PV solar installations with a total nominal power of 11MW. This PV solar platform, located in Granadilla Industrial Estate, will be constituted by one PV plant of 7MW and two of 2MW.

7MW in Granadilla de Abona

This installation consists of 7 MW, organized in units of 100kW, each connected to the mid tension electric grid and located in the same plot of SOLTEN I in Granadilla Industrial Estate (at 1.5 kilometres away from ITER).

There are 70 PV units of 100kW each, destined to electricity generation. Each unit occupies 800 m2 and is composed by PV panels assembled on a light aluminium modular structure.

The 70 units are connected to the mid tension connection point of the electricity distribution company, UNELCO-Endesa, being the plant only connected to one mid tension meter.

These units are organized in 4 groups, 3 of them of 20 units and another group of 10. Each group of 20 is connected to a 2 x 1.000 kVA capacity transformation centre and the group of 10 is connected to a 1 x 1.000 kVA capacity transformation centre, installing a total of 4 transformation stations. These centres are located towards the middle of each group, minimizing the electric loses of the installation.

These four positions are connected to only one distribution centre in the north-east.

This installation uses photovoltaic panels of several manufactures, but keeps the same quality standards. They have been installed as follows:

• Kyocera panels, KC-175-GHT-2 model, of 175 Wp power.
• Iter Solar Module panels, ST 162 P-1 models, of 162 Wp power.
• Yingli panles, YL 170/175/180 models, of 170/175/180 Wp power.

To complete the low tension installation of each photovoltaic generation unit, each one is connected to one photovoltaic inverter, which is the electric-electronic element able to convert the generated energy in continuous current for the PV panels and change it into alternating current (suitable for the electric grid). The PV inverter used is the tri-phase TEIDE 100 model, manufactured by ITER:

4MW in ITER terrains

This Project consists of the installation of 4MW divided in two areas: 20 units of 100kW in the former Euclides area (Zone 1) and 20 units on roofs of ITER future buildings (Zone 2).

Zone 1

The 2MW PV Project is located in ITER terrains, in the plot that was previously occupied by the EUCLIDES concentrating plant. It consist of 20 units of 100 kW each, connected to the mid tension electric grid.

The PV plants will be located in the roof of ITER´s new buildings: One installation of 1MW power (10 units of 100kW) will be located on the biggest warehouse and 900kW more will be distributed in the roofs of other 7 warehouses.

The remaining 100kW will be installed on a pergola that will cover a car park located in front of ITER main building. Each unit occupies an area of 800 m2 and will be compound of PV panels assembled on a light aluminium modular structure.

To carry out the mid tension grid connection of the 20 PV plants, a standardized Transformation Centre with 2.000 kVA capacity will be installed.

The 20 PV plants will be connected in mid tension to a Connection Point given by the electricity distribution company Unelco- Endesa.

This connection point is located in an already existing distribution centre in ITER terrains entry. It is necessary to complete this Centre with additional mid tension electric devices in order to carry out the connection of all plants.

In terms of the low tension installation, there will be Yingli YL 180 PV panels of 180 Wp power installed. The configuration of one plant with these panels will be of 28 panels in serial distribution and 22 panels in parallel, with a total power of 110,880 kWp.

To complete the low tension connection of the plants, a photovoltaic inverter will be installed in each of them, which will be manufactured by ITER (tri-phase Teide 100 model).

Zone 2

This installation consists of 20 units of 100kW each. They are appointed to the generation of electric energy, by means of a mid tension grid connection, and will be located south of the maintenance building.

In terms of the low tension installation, the photovoltaic panels that will be installed are manufactured by Yingli (YL 180 model) of 180 Wp power. The configuration of one plant with these panels will be of 28 panels in serial distribution and 22 panels in parallel, with a total power of 110,880 kWp.

These panels will be assembled on aluminium and modular light structure, like the one used in SOLTEN I, with 10º slope and south oriented. Further on, it is planned to move these plants to the roofs of the new ITER buildings, which will be used as laboratories, warehouses and other services.

Number of plants by Manufacturer

	KYOCERA	SOLARWORLD	ITER	YINGLI	total
SOLTEN I	32	91	5	3	131
SOLTEN II	10	1	34	65	110
total	42	92	39	68	241

3. 100 kW Pilot Plant

The 100 kW installation belongs to SOLTEN project´s pilot plant, and consist of 646 PV modules of polycrystalline silicon cells, each one with 34 modules associated in series. The structure is south-faced with 10° slope and is assembled over aluminium sections. The inverters and the transformers are located in a hut.

The pilot plant allowed the validation of the assembly system of the plants, the test of the aluminium and the update and improvement of TEIDE inverter before its application in the project of SOLTEN I.

The operation of this plant includes:

• Electricity supply for 35 families.
• Reduction of the atmospheric emissions in:
• 120.000 kg/año de CO2
• 810 kg/año de SOx
• 300 kg/año de NOx
• 18 kg de CO
• Un ahorro de 12.930 kg/año de petróleo.

4. 28 kW Power Plant

This ITER´s PV installation in the main building was made for more then 10 years and is one of the first of it type in the Canary Islands.

With the aim of minimizing the visual impact of the installation, the PV plant covers the whole roof area and it was built with the adequate inclination and orientation for the panel´s placement so that it did not need visible structures. The total covered area is of 180 m2.

The PV plant is a modular installation where the power generated by the panels can be used for several applications. The PV panels used are the M55L model from ISOFOTON and the total generated energy by the plant is esteemed in 42 MWh/year.

This PV plant supplies the whole power demand of the offices of the main building, having a power generation equivalent to the combustion of more than 3, 6 Tons of fuel per year.

In other words, the direct use of sun´s energy in this plant avoids the emission of approximately 33 Tons of CO2, 226, 8 Kg of sulphur dioxide and 84 Kg of nitrogen dioxide.

Technical features

The module consists of 36 mono-crystalline silicon cells, giving an output power of 53W at 3A.

Taking into account the size of the panel, 528 panels were arranged in 22 rows of 24 panels each, so that the total power of the installation is about 28 kW. The panels on each row are serial connected and, this way, each row has a load voltage of about 400 V.

The modular installation generates power that can be used for several applications. All cables follow a parallel line to the building&cute;s side until they reach the distributor. On this point, part of the generated power, depending on the demand, is derived to an AC/DC converter before injecting it into the grid. The rest of the power is used to supply isolated applications, for example, it has been used to perform some load tests in TEIDE inverter prototype.

In order to improve the quality and operation of the plant, the original inverter has been substituted by a 30kW TEIDE inverter, similar to the 70 kW TEIDE inverters designed and used by ITER for the EUCLIDES PV plant. This triphasic inverter incorporates a MPP (Maximum Power Point) monitoring system and has no voltage amplifier transformer, so its efficiency is higher than in a conventional inverter.

5. Concentrating PV technology: Euclides

This installation is an example of concentrating PV technology whose purpose is to be a demonstration of it, as one of the lines of the former EUCLIDES project. It uses parabolic mirror technology and is based in the EUCLIDES TM prototype (European Concentrated Light Intensity Development of Energy sources). This technology is based on the idea of concentrating the sunlight on a reduced area of solar cells to reduce the price of PV solar plants.

The concentrating optic is based in cylindrical-parabolic mirrors with one tracking axis.

The plant is made of a 42 meters long line with north-south orientation and with 69 series connected modules and 70 parabolic mirrors.

This structure belongs to half of the former Euclides project line, in which the plant was composed of 14 lines of 84m long with a nominal power of 480kWp, and each line was composed of 138 serial connected modules and 140 parabolic mirrors.