Solar power from the factory roof

A photovoltaic system erected by Siemens Energy on the roof of a production hall of Allton Fertigteile GmbH in Berlin Hennigsdorf has already fed about 60,000 kWh of solar power into the grid in its first six months of operation. After making allowance for the low solar irradiation during the winter months, this represents a very good yield for the 225-kWp photovoltaic system. About 50 three-person households can be supplied with electric power with the anticipated annual energy yield.

The system, which has a peak output of 225 kW, is connected to the public power supply network via the company’s power grid. This project involves the expansion of the 45-kWp solar system that Siemens already installed in 2005 on the same hall roof. Apart from the engineering and installation of the photovoltaic system at Allton Fertigteile in Berlin Hennigsdorf, the delivery package also included 1248 solar modules from Sharp which were connected together into 26 solar panels by means of twelve junction boxes. The project also comprised two 100-kVA master/slave inverters of the Sinvert Solar range as well as the complete cabling including cable ducts and sub-distribution boards.

The power inverters use software for supervision and monitoring of the system. In the case of a fault or if the measured results are implausible, the system can send an e-mail automatically. Through an Internet portal, the operator can obtain an overview of the performance and control status of his system. The Berlin company is planning to expand its solar system to an output of 550 kWp – and because of its positive experience probably with the support of the Siemens solar experts again.