Germany’s largest thin-film pitched roof system has been producing environmentally friendly solar power in Moers near Duisburg since mid October. Over eleven thousand Cadmium Telluride modules from the American manufacturer First Solar deliver a total of 837 kilowatts.
The solar power system was constructed by Riedel Recycling. The company uses the former coal mixing hall in Moers for the storage and preparation of building materials. Its 9,500 square meter south-facing roof is now fully fitted with solar modules.
The fitters required just three months despite pitches of 36.55 and 75 degrees, and heights of up to 30 metres, which were only accessible with inclined lifts and ladders.
Four SolarMax central inverters run in the solar power system at Moers, with outputs of 300 (2x), 100 and 30 kilowatts respectively. However, inside their housings the inverters do not only convert the direct current from the solar modules into alternating current, they are also set to heat the administrative buildings in the future.
“The SolarMax inverters produce a total of around 45 kilowatts of waste heat” explains Günter Grandjean. “We divert this to air-conditioning systems with heat exchangers in the administration building.”
And the roof may also be producing more electricity in the future. Ludger Riedel and Günter Grandjean are already pondering the installation of additional solar power systems with SolarMax inverters to the external pillars.
– from solarbuzz