Beside amorphous silicon modules the Sofia based company has also installed six central inverters of the type SolarMax 330C-SV. The devices each have a rated output of 330 kilowatts and achieve a maximum efficiency of 98 percent.
When selecting the inverters, the head of Sunservice, Rumen Christov, attached great importance to high quality and know-how. “Sputnik has a lot of experience with central inverters,” says Christov. He expects the solar plant to produce 1,250 kilowatt hours per kilowatt annually. Based on the present Bulgarian infeed rate for power, the plant operator will be paid 37.2 euro cents for every kilowatt hour produced.
Because of the good irradiation conditions and the attractive price, Christov expects rapid growth in the Bulgarian solar market. “At present, in Bulgaria, less than 10 megawatts of photovoltaic capacity is installed,“ says Christov. “This year, new plants with an overall capacity of 10 to 50 megawatts will be built. By 2015, in Bulgaria, plants will be producing a total output of 500 to 1,000 megawatts of solar power. By 2020 this figure will rise to 2.5 to 4 gigawatts.“
Sputnik–s head of sales and marketing, Daniel Freudiger, is looking forward to more projects in this Balkan country: “Bulgaria is a very important growth market for us. We have already signed several excellent partnerships and will continuously expand our network.” This past March, for example, in eastern Bulgaria the Swiss inverter manufacturer commissioned the country–s largest solar plant with an overall capacity of 2.4 megawatts fitted with SolarMax central inverters.
Ihtiman plant details
Power output: 2 MW
Modules : Amorphous silicon modules made by Polar PV
Inverters : SolarMax 330C-SV (6x)
Inclination and orientation: Inclination 32°, South
Expected annual yield : 1,250 kWh/kW
Commissioning: September 2010