Solar Silicon Carbide Inverter

What is a silicon carbide inverter?

Whether implemented in distributed Power Optimizers, or as the first stage of a solar string inverter, Silicon carbide devices can enhance the efficiency and switching speed of the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) circuit to boost power into a constant, higher voltage to the internal bus.

Can a silicon carbide inverter power a solar power plant?

Emiliano joined pv magazine in March 2017. He has been reporting on solar and renewable energy since 2009. Elsewhere on pv magazine... Fraunhofer ISE researchers claim the new silicon carbide inverter is technically able to handle voltage levels of up to 1,500 V at 250 kVA in utility scale solar power plants.

Can a silicon carbide inverter save energy?

Silicon carbide enables solar inverters to be lighter, smaller and more efficient. Using silicon carbide power components instead of silicon for solar inverters, for instance, can save 10 megawatts for each gigawatt and 500 watts/sec in operations, representing significant energy savings. Cree recently announced its 650V MOSFET product.

Can silicon carbide transform solar power management?

One materials technology poised to transform solar power management is silicon carbide (SiC). Solar manufacturers use this wonder material to build highly efficient and robust solar inverter systems that turn DC power from photovoltaic (PV) cells into household and business AC power.

Why should I use Wolfspeed silicon carbide in my solar inverter?

Solar inverters are responsible for converting DC current into grid-ready AC current quickly, efficiently and with minimal energy loss. Using Wolfspeed Silicon Carbide in your inverter can significantly improve efficiency and drastically increase switching frequency resulting in smaller, lighter, lower cost systems.

Are silicon carbide-based inverters a good choice?

Silicon carbide-based inverters are known to have higher power densities, with less need for cooling and lower overall system costs than traditional inverters. However, defects at the interface between the silicon carbide and the insulating silicon dioxide material could still represent an issue for such devices.