Take full advantages of your renewable energy with grid-interactive power modules

New rules for a changing world

The energy world is changing rapidly. A system designed around big, centralized power plants and top-down power flows is grinding against the rise of smarter, cleaner technologies that offer new ways to generate and manage energy at the local level (think of solar panels and batteries).

With more decentral green energy produced, the grid will be stressed out, and therefore the regulators must take proactive measures. Technical prescriptions need to be adapted to these changes. This is the goal of certifications such as EN50549-1:2019 (Europe) and C10/11 Synergrid (Belgium). Indeed, they aim at harmonized the technical requirements for the connection of Decentralise Energy Ressources (DER) capable of operating in parallel with the grid. In other words, for grid-interactive installations.

Concretely, what brings the “grid-interactive” functionality?

People expect their PV systems to deliver clean, reliable power, without disturbing the overall grid stability. This is only possible with a grid-interactive inverter system.

Indeed, without grid-interactive power modules, your first source of energy is the grid and then you use the power from your renewable sources. If the utility power is lost, the renewable energy sources can’t be used.

However, with grid-interactive power modules, you can store your excess of local produced energy in batteries and inject it back into your local network when needed. Alternatively, you can activate your asset to support the grid. Moreover, in case of power outage, you can still use the energy from your PV for backup.

The results?

• Self-consumption: you optimize the use of your renewable energy
• Peak shaving: reduce your grid costs by using the grid no more than needed
• Grid-Support: activate your assets for grid support functions such as FCR, aFFR, mFFR and other mechanisms
• Business Continuity: ensure the energy to your business’ critical loads, based on green renewable energy

How can CE+T help you?

Our bi-directional power converter Hercules is the solution. It has 3 ports, two AC and one DC. Therefore, you can connect the Hercules to the grid and to batteries (or other storage equipment). The AC port connected to the grid and the DC connected to batteries are bidirectional: the power flow can go in two directions.

With our bi-directional power converter Hercules, you can convert solar-generated DC power (or other DC renewable energy) into AC power and consume it directly. When you have an excess of energy, you have two options:

1. Use it to charge your batteries
2. Inject it to the grid and get paid for it

This last option is the grid-interactive functionality and Hercules power modules have been certified EN50549-1:2019 (Europe) and C10/11 Synergrid (Belgium).

Of course, that’s only one of the many benefits Hercules can offer, such as:

• Optimize your energy consumption
• Maximize the use of your renewable energies
• Charge the batteries when the electric rate is low
• Secure your critical loads in case of power outage
• … and many more