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Apollo Solar Power is pleased to announce the signing of a contract with Solar Source (www.solarsource.net) to build a demonstration-scale, 5.6-kilowatt solar power project in St. Petersburg Beach, Florida. Financing for this project has been secured with Wells Fargo Bank. Utilizing Enphase microinverters (www.enphaseenergy.com) and 32 Solar World panels, Apollo Solar Power will begin generating electricity by early summer 2009. During our first full year of operation, we will generate 8.1 megawatt-hours (8100 kilowatt-hours) of electricity, which saves our power company from burning enough fuel to release 5.5 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere!
Apollo Solar Power chose to use microinverters because of their improved durability and increased power output. Due to their complex engineering and design, conventional inverter boxes remain a weak link in the chain of solar power generation. While solar panels will produce power for 25 years or more, inverter boxes often require replacement after only 7 to 10 years of service. Using microinverters tested at 119 years mean time between failures (MTBF), each individual solar panel in Apollo Solar Power’s project will have its own inverter unit, permitting the system to generate AC power even if only a single solar panel has adequate sun exposure. We will show how this leads to higher power yields from the system when compared to conventional arrays using conventional inverter boxes.
As we continue to look toward building a 1000-kW solar farm project on 10 acres of property in the southeast United States, we are thrilled to develop operational experience with this solar power project.
