Fronius supports Smart Grid pilot project

The Upper Austrian "solar mecca" of Eberstalzell not only boasts the largest photovoltaic (PV) research power station in Austria, it is also going to be the site of a Smart Grid demonstration system. The aim of the system is to be well prepared for the increase in use of renewable sources of energy. Fronius is involved in this promising project with its Fronius IG Plus inverters.

Intelligent grids, known as Smart Grids, are becoming more and more important due to the immense growth in renewable energy and the increasing number of photovoltaic systems that feed into the public grid. By the end of 2015, it is expected that 6,000 new solar power systems will go on stream in Austria each year.

The pilot project in Eberstalzell consists of a test network of 70 photovoltaic systems that feed into the public grid of Energie AG Oberösterreich and is to be used as a test array. The Fronius IG Plus inverters installed in each of these photovoltaic systems actively support stable grid operation.

The research project is being lead by AIT (Austrian Institute of Technology) and installation will start in spring 2012. The project as a whole is scheduled to run for three years.

The PV research power station in Eberstalzell is the source of further good news. The Fronius CL central inverters installed on site have produced exceptionally high yields over the past year: according to Energie AG Oberösterreich they are up 10% on the already optimistic forecasts. In April 2011, the 1,000,000th kilowatt hour of electricity was fed into the Energie AG grid.