Microinverters Moving Into Commercial-Scale Solar: When Will It Happen?

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Back in mid-August, Vine Fresh Produce in Ontario unveiled a 2.3-MW solar rooftop array on its greenhouse, the largest commercial rooftop project under the province's feed-in tariff (FIT). This system notably incorporates a technology that's been more familiar in the U.S. residential solar market: microinverters. (The devices, made in Enphase's Ontario plant, helped the project qualify for that FIT.) Weeks ago Enphase followed that up with another large-sized project using microinverters, 3.1-MW of distributed solar across 125 buildings for the San Diego Unified School District.

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solarix

Re: Microinverters Moving Into Commercial-Scale Solar: When Will It Happen?

Baffles me why a large greenhouse operator would cover a large portion of the glass with solar - especially the south facing portions. The number one factor in greenhouse productivity is winter solar gain. Covering it with solar is self-defeating. They would be better off having an insulated structure, put solar PV all over the top and use grow lights. I'm sure Enphase would like to expand into the large scale arena - I still don't understand how it is a better solution except on really small scale applications.