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WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Amid a global scramble to invest in solar power as a viable renewable energy option, pressure is mounting on manufacturers to maximize electricity output with minimum outlay.
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced it has developed the world's first technology to maximize output power in photovoltaic systems in poor weather conditions.
Mitsubishi said the PV systems' output would be enhanced through the inclusion of a new maximum power-point tracking system in PV inverters.
The technology, which works with a single PV inverter, achieves the maximum power point even when part of a PV array is hidden by shadow or dust, Mitsubishi said.
Solar power as a renewable energy of the future has gained ground worldwide but with its popularity pressure has built on both energy producers and plant manufacturers to extract maximum results at minimum cost.
Industry analysts said solar energy output and cost efficiency increasingly would depend on the quality of equipment supplied. That meant that the less-developed countries would need to invest more to make the optimum use of abundant sunlight.
PV system characteristics such as output power are greatly influenced by the amount of sunlight and temperature.
Conventional PV arrays, which are groups of PV modules connected either in series or parallel, use MPPT systems to help achieve their maximum output-power points.
But, the company said, if part of a PV array is hidden by shadow and the rest is still in sunlight, resulting in multiple peak points, a conventional MPPT system has difficulty tracking the maximum point.
This is particularly true in urban areas where PV systems are likely to be installed near buildings or other obstructions to sunlight, causing shadows that can greatly decrease output power.
Mitsubishi's technological breakthrough allows the MPPT system to automatically measure the PV array's output power characteristics and control the array to operate at its maximum output power point.
The system thus ensures that the PV system receives maximum output power from the array, said the company. In some cases, the technology will be able to more than double the output power compared to a PV inverter equipped with a conventional MPPT system.
Mitsubishi Electric said it will continue its research and development with aims to incorporate the technology in its products in the near future.
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation group sales exceeded $37.4 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009.
The Dublin-based Research and Markets said renewable energy penetration was on the increase in the United States.
In one of the latest deals, Las Vegas's NV Energy and NextLight Renewable Power LLC announced a 25-year contract for the purchase and sale of energy to be produced at NextLight's 50-megawatt Silver State Solar Power photovoltaic facility near Primm, Nev.
The project will use solar photovoltaic technology to generate clean, emissions-free energy by May 2011.
The Silver State Solar Power project is one of more than 41 proposed or existing renewable energy facilities in Nevada.
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