More and more solar parks are being built around the world, and they are becoming more and more powerful: in Andhra Pradesh, India, there is currently the world's most powerful solar park with 1GW. In Portugal the largest solar park in Europe with 1.2GW is being planned. The Tengger Solar Park, China, will soon be commissioned with 1.5GW. In the Nubian Desert (Egypt), a 1.8GW solar park is being built - and a few weeks ago, the Philippines approved the construction of a 3.5GW solar park. The requirements for the components in such plants are high - also for the connectors.
TE Connectivity (TE) is therefore now launching new insulation-piercing connectors to further support the accelerated implementation of solar farms. Unveiled at RE+, the largest solar trade show in North America, the new Solar IPC (SIPC) assemblies allow users to flexibly respond to changes that occur during the construction phase of solar farms and save significant time and labor during installation.
The rugged SIPC assemblies are designed specifically for solar applications and complement TE's existing Customizable Trunk Solution (CTS) range. "Designed to meet customer requirements for simple, safe and reliable installation, these new SIPC assemblies have the design flexibility to ensure on-time completion of projects. Their flexible plug-and-play design makes installation easier and safer by fitting into a variety of solar farm architectures. They can be configured in real time to respond to changing site requirements, and their pre-positioned multi-tap harness reduces the number of components to be installed on site. Thanks to their durability, they increase the reliability of our solution offering and help reduce the risk of incorrect installation," explains TE Global Product Manager Daniel Ribeiro.
SIPC assemblies are suitable for both utility and commercial solar power generation and have been tested and certified to the highest possible standard. They allow for a greater number of strings per connection, optimizing the eBOS architecture, as well as the CTS itself. eBos (electrical Balance of System) includes all components of a photovoltaic system, including connectors.
TE's CTS can reduce installation time by up to 50% and contribute to material cost savings of up to 40%. "CTS stands out above all for its flexibility: Every customer has their own priorities and requirements. Our solutions can address this, which means that each customer not only receives a market-leading solution, but also one that is best suited to the specific requirements of each project," says Ribeiro.
