Photovoltaic plant (power: 414 KW) – Catania

The plant is a grid-connected system, and is located on the roof of an industrial building used for the treatment of municipal solid waste in Catania; after having designed and manufactured the specific steel structures of support to adapt to the type of coverage of the industrial building, 1.800 panels (InnovoSolar MET 230P models with a nominal power of 230 W each) were installed on special steel rails anchored to the above structures. The power of the entire system is therefore equal to 414.0 kWp, with an average energy production of about 642,000 kWh/y.

The installation of the photovoltaic power plant was only possible after a period of static verification carried out in collaboration with the manufacturer of prefabricated shed, to assess the maximum allowable overload above the roof. The photovoltaic system is connected to the local distribution network at a voltage of 20 kV; two inverters (Friem Recon 330 model) were installed, in order to ensure a maximum 0.6 MW power. The savings in terms of fossil fuels could be estimated in about 110 TOE (tons of oil equivalent) per year, while a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of approximately 300 tons of CO₂ each year was calculated.