ABB Inverters Connect Malaysia’s Largest Solar Plant to Grid

 ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has delivered and commissioned key components to integrate renewable energy from Amcorp Power Sdn Bhd’s Gemas 10.25 Megawatt (MW) Solar Power Plant into Malaysia’s electric grid as the country seeks to intensify its reliance on emission-free energy sources.

Amcorp Power’s solar plant located in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan, about 100 miles from the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, is the country’s largest solar power plant and represents approximately 11 percent of its nearly 116 megawatts of grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity. ABB’s solar solutions will play an important role in Malaysia’s expansion of renewable energy and solar capacity to reduce dependency on fossil fuels and minimize carbon emissions.

“Renewable energy, in particular solar, will play an increasingly important role in the energy mix of countries that represent a significant portion of the world’s economic growth for decades to come,” said Pekka Tiitinen, head of ABB’s Discrete Automation and Motion division. “ABB’s portfolio of products, including the inverters we’re delivering here along with our service offering, will ensure that Malaysia has access to clean, green power even as the technologies evolve.”

Malaysia has set a national target to diversify the country’s energy mix, including feeding 975 MW or 5.5 percent of renewable energy into the grid by 2015. By 2020, this is targeted to double to 2.065 MW, or 11 percent. Under Malaysia’s National Renewable Energy Policy, solar power is expected to contribute a minimum of 220 MW to its total capacity mix.

ABB delivered high-efficiency TRIO solar inverters, the ‘brains’ behind a photovoltaic system, to convert direct current (DC) electricity generated by the solar modules into alternating current (AC) with 98.3 percent efficiency. The TRIO inverters are fully enclosed and have no moving parts such as cooling fans, so they require no maintenance or spare parts.

Gemas also uses ABB’s Plant Portfolio Manager, which provides a highly interactive dashboard with real-time remote performance monitoring over computer networks or even mobile devices for better, faster PV plant management.

ABB provides the most comprehensive portfolio of products, systems and solutions along the solar PV value chain that enable the generation, transmission and distribution of solar power for both on-grid and microgrid applications. ABB's offering includes inverters, low-voltage and grid connection, stabilization and integration products, complete electrical balance of plant solutions as well as a wide range of services comprising operations, maintenance and remote monitoring.

Amcorp Power, a wholly owned subsidiary of Amcorp Properties Berhad, is a leading company in the renewable energy sector in Malaysia with a focus on hydro and solar energy. Amcorp Power won the Asean Renewable Energy Awards in 2012 in the best ini-hydro on-grid category and the Silver Award of Merit for Renewable Energy in 2013 from the Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia.