SmartBuildings - I would like to know why we didn't use redundancy inverter for solar PV plant?

[Schneider_Community_Team]

I would like to know why we didn't use redundancy inverter for solar PV plant?

[Jean_Commeignes]

Central inverter are mainly used for large plants with no shading challenges. For a power plant of equal size, we will see the central inverter being the leader on cost and installation time. But it comes with a higher dependency on the supplier.

The design is unique to the manufacturer so if the manufacturer is going to stop his support on that product, the customer could face major cost to get a replacement. With a string inverter, I will have a more flexible solution. The cost will be higher on the CAPEX site but on the other hand I can replace my string inverter much easier by another product.

There are limits to the use of string inverters, if it comes to sophisticated grid support requirements or contractual obligation.

On the service side, central inverter supplier are equipped with strong field service support, string inverter company might not have the setup to fulfil all the service requirements of a large Power Plant.

Long story short, it is less a technical decision as it is much more focused on legal, financial and risk topics.