Sunday, April 14, 2013

Eaton Installs BoS for Solar Parks - Analyst Blog

Eaton Corporation 's ( ETN ) Electrical Sector has supplied and installed complete balance of system ("BoS") solutions for three major new solar energy parks. These three parks are owned and developed by Lightsource Renewable Energy.


The three new parks include Chittering in Cambridgeshire, Eastacombe Farm in Devon and Great Knowle Farm in Devon wih capacity of 5MWp, 3.5MWp and 2.5MWp, respectively. Eaton in collaboration with Solarcentury has worked on engineering and project management program of these parks.

The company has designed, supplied and installed the specially made electricity substations for each of the three new solar energy farms. Three substations were installed for both Chittering and Eastacombe parks, whereas only two substations were required for the smallest system at Great Knowle.

Each of the substations is equipped with Eaton dc junction boxes and multiple SolarMax TS-SV 330kW inverters. Eaton dc junction boxes enable safe and secure connections for the incoming supplies from the PV panels, whereas multiple SolarMax TS-SV 330kW inverters help in achieving maximum power point ("MPP") efficiencies of 99%.

Moreover, these substations have 280V to 11kV transformers and Eaton Xiria 11kV ring main units with integral G59 protection. These multipurpose units use reliable vacuum switching technology that reduces maintenance requirements as well as the environmental impact of the equipment during the time of manufacture and at the end-of-life disposal.

The connection to the grid is 33kV for Eastacombe park, and therefore to cater to this need, Eaton supplied an additional 11kV to 33kV transformer along with the necessary third-party 33kV switchgear.

These electricity substations provide an important link between the photovoltaic panels and the national power distribution grid. The company has constructed and tested the substations on-site in order to curtail the time and cost of installation and commissioning.

With this installation, the company has extended its strong presence is the solar energy sector. In September this year, the company had introduced the Power XpertTM Solar 1500 kilowatt (kW) inverter for utility-scale, solar applications that converts direct current (DC) power into clean alternating current (AC). The Power Xpert Solar 1500 kW inverter is well-designed to reduce installation costs, boost reliability and improve plant uptime.

Prior to that, the company had announced collaboration with Tangent Energy Solutions to develop solar energy generation installations at Eaton's facilities in Coraopolis and Vanport Township, Pennsylvania. The project includes a 1.3-megawatt ("MW") ground mount solar array at Eaton's Beaver facility and a 200-kilowatt (kW) rooftop array in Coraopolis.

Cleveland, Ohio-based Eaton Corporation is a diversified power management company and a global technology leader in electrical components and systems for power quality, distribution and control; hydraulics components, systems and services for industrial and mobile equipment; aerospace fuel, hydraulics and pneumatic systems for commercial and military use; and truck and automotive drivetrain and powertrain systems for performance, fuel economy and safety.

Eaton Corporation operates in a number of markets and faces a wide array of competitors in varied niches. Going forward, we expect strong momentum across Eaton's business segments to continue amidst buoyant end-market demand and market share gains.

However, except Electrical Americas segment, other segments of the company are expected to improve at a much slower pace than previously expected due to uncertainty prevailing in the European markets and slower-than-expected growth in the Chinese markets. Moreover, we expect the decision to acquire Cooper Industries will substantially increase the debt burden of the company. The company presently retains a short-term Zacks #4 Rank (Sell). We have a long-term Neutral recommendation on the stock.

Source: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/eaton-installs-bos-for-solar-parks-analyst-blog-cm181230#.UQ_FxGfcj6U

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