Alencon’s architectures for alternative energy conversion provide high modularity and scalability on solar PV systems from several megawatts to several-hundred megawatts. By helping to dramatically reduce Balance of System (BoS) costs and increase power production through new inverter and energy harvesting technology, Alencon helps advance the state of the art and increase financial viability of solar power.

Headquartered in Hatboro, Pennsylvania, the company was formed in 2009 as a spin-off of the Inductotherm Group – the leading inverter manufacturer in the heating and melting industry. In aggregate these inverters reliably supply over 20,000MW of power to foundries and shops around the world. Alencon is now applying the same unsurpassed reliability to the alternative energy sector.

In 2011 Alencon received an Award from the U.S. Department of Energy for a project titled “Extreme BoS Cost Reductions with Multi-Megawatt Centralized Inverter Systems”. In 2012 Stephens Capital Partners, the Private Equity arm of Stephens Inc., provided financial backing for the company.

ALENCON AWARD-WINNING ARCHITECTURE

Combines proven conversion technology with modern electronics and system controls

To maximize energy production reliably while lowering system costs, Alencon combines the highest central efficiency, distributed maximum power point tracking (MPPT), and highest voltage DC bus compatible with standard solar PV modules.

GrIP inverters offer industry leading efficiency: 99.5%

60Hz switching and Harmonic Neutralization maximize energy output

Current-fed inverters convert DC to AC with incredibly high efficiency – over 99% on average. Losses are minimized by switching at 60Hz grid frequency instead of 1000’s of Hz in ordinary inverters. Slower switching means lower losses, enabled by Harmonic Neutralization, an elegantly simple, patented technology.

Greatest Granularity with Distributed SPOTs

4 MPPTs per Unit

Distributed SPOTs minimize impacts of uneven soiling, cloud cover, sporadic damage, differences in irradiance, and module degradation, while maximizing power and boosting bus voltage up to a fixed 2500V for aggregation. Quick and easy to install, SPOTs reduce labor costs, O&M, and BOS costs while increasing kWh/kW production.

VIEWS

The visual SCADA system

VIEWS provides a complete overview of your PV plant at a single glance. It graphically displays voltages, currents, PV string performance, semiconductor temperatures, control board temperatures, and more, with easy to understand visuals. An accurate model of your installation populated with performance data will be of use for future sales, demos, diagnostics, and engineering support.

Harmonic Neutralization

The high efficiency alternative to PWM

Low frequency switching creates higher harmonics in the output current of each GrIP. These are eliminated through the application of Harmonic Neutralization (HN), which acts like noise-cancelling headphones for unwanted harmonics. It is implemented by staggering the output of each unit with respect to others in the inverter system, each with its own optimal shift in phase. The output currents from all units are then paralleled in a step-up transformer, where opposing amplitudes cancel each other out leaving only the near perfect 60Hz sinusoidal waveform that is supplied to the electric grid.