Central Solar Intipampa solar PV plant

Intipampa solar PV plant

This solar power plant property of Engie is located in Intipampa, Moquegua district, Mariscal Nieto Province, in Peru.

This is the first collaboration in the solar sector between Gamesa Electric and Engie. It means an extension to the solar business of the already broad relationship in the wind energy business between its parent company Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy and this client.

As part of the agreements, the company has supplied a total of 9 PV solar power stations in standard ISO 40 feet maritime containers fully wired, interconnected and factory tested. Each PV solar power station contains two solar PV inverters Gamesa E-2.25 MVA-SB-I, a step-up transformer and a medium voltage protection switchgear. Each one of the 18 Gamesa E-2.25MVA inverters supplied by Gamesa Electric for the project has a mixed liquid and air cooling system which guarantees 2.476kVA at the plant’s maximum working temperature.

The environmental conditions at the PV plant’s location is one of the many challenges overcame at this project. With the plant’s location at 2,074 meters elevation and the high concentration of sand and other particles in the air, the entrance of dust in the equipment has also been an avoidable risk to eliminate.

The lower density of the air due to the plant’s altitude is a problem for air cooled power electronics equipment. However, Gamesa Electric’s PV inverters, with liquid cooled power blocks, have the optimum design and specifications for this location.

The tracking solar panels installed allow for the plant to reach the nominal power from the first hour in the morning and maintain it throughout the whole day. The optimum refrigeration of both the PV inverters and Solar Power Stations supplied by Gamesa Electric, does not allow overheating and the subsequent reduction on its total delivered power.

Another challenge faced in this project has been the strict technical requirements from the Utility Company — such as the medium and low voltage protections, the communications and the response times for the fulfillment of the grid code interconnection requirements—, all of which are even harder in such extreme environmental conditions.

Working side by side with a global energy player like ENGIE Solar obliged us to assure the fulfillment of the greatest energy standards, so that a continuous and safe electric supply through the plant´s operational lifespan is guaranteed and therefore an efficient quality of service is given. ENGIE Solar trusted Gamesa Electric through the entire process, both in the capacities of our team and our solar inverters.