Eaton Corporation
's (
ETN
) Electrical Sector has supplied and installed complete balance of
system ("BoS") solutions for three major new solar energy parks.
These three parks are owned and developed by Lightsource Renewable
Energy.
The three new parks include Chittering in Cambridgeshire,
Eastacombe Farm in Devon and Great Knowle Farm in Devon wih
capacity of 5MWp, 3.5MWp and 2.5MWp, respectively. Eaton in
collaboration with Solarcentury has worked on engineering and
project management program of these parks.
The company has designed, supplied and installed the specially made
electricity substations for each of the three new solar energy
farms. Three substations were installed for both Chittering and
Eastacombe parks, whereas only two substations were required for
the smallest system at Great Knowle.
Each of the substations is equipped with Eaton dc junction boxes
and multiple SolarMax TS-SV 330kW inverters. Eaton dc junction
boxes enable safe and secure connections for the incoming supplies
from the PV panels, whereas multiple SolarMax TS-SV 330kW inverters
help in achieving maximum power point ("MPP") efficiencies of 99%.
Moreover, these substations have 280V to 11kV transformers and
Eaton Xiria 11kV ring main units with integral G59 protection.
These multipurpose units use reliable vacuum switching technology
that reduces maintenance requirements as well as the environmental
impact of the equipment during the time of manufacture and at the
end-of-life disposal.
The connection to the grid is 33kV for Eastacombe park, and
therefore to cater to this need, Eaton supplied an additional 11kV
to 33kV transformer along with the necessary third-party 33kV
switchgear.
These electricity substations provide an important link between the
photovoltaic panels and the national power distribution grid. The
company has constructed and tested the substations on-site in order
to curtail the time and cost of installation and commissioning.
With this installation, the company has extended its strong
presence is the solar energy sector. In September this year, the
company had introduced the Power XpertTM Solar 1500 kilowatt (kW)
inverter for utility-scale, solar applications that converts direct
current (DC) power into clean alternating current (AC). The Power
Xpert Solar 1500 kW inverter is well-designed to reduce
installation costs, boost reliability and improve plant uptime.
Prior to that, the company had announced collaboration with Tangent
Energy Solutions to develop solar energy generation installations
at Eaton's facilities in Coraopolis and Vanport Township,
Pennsylvania. The project includes a 1.3-megawatt ("MW") ground
mount solar array at Eaton's Beaver facility and a 200-kilowatt
(kW) rooftop array in Coraopolis.
Cleveland, Ohio-based Eaton Corporation is a diversified power
management company and a global technology leader in electrical
components and systems for power quality, distribution and control;
hydraulics components, systems and services for industrial and
mobile equipment; aerospace fuel, hydraulics and pneumatic systems
for commercial and military use; and truck and automotive
drivetrain and powertrain systems for performance, fuel economy and
safety.
Eaton Corporation operates in a number of markets and faces a wide
array of competitors in varied niches. Going forward, we expect
strong momentum across Eaton's business segments to continue amidst
buoyant end-market demand and market share gains.
However, except Electrical Americas segment, other segments of the
company are expected to improve at a much slower pace than
previously expected due to uncertainty prevailing in the European
markets and slower-than-expected growth in the Chinese markets.
Moreover, we expect the decision to acquire Cooper Industries will
substantially increase the debt burden of the company. The company
presently retains a short-term Zacks #4 Rank (Sell). We have a
long-term Neutral recommendation on the stock.
Some of its competitors are
Stratasys Inc.
(
SSYS
) and
Standex International Corp.
(
SXI
).
EATON CORP (ETN): Free Stock Analysis Report
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