CAL State Fresno – Center for Irrigation Technology

WorldWater & Solar Technologies installed the photovoltaic (PV) system on the roof of the WET Lab for the purpose of providing solar-generated electricity to the entire building, including operating the testing facilities.  The Water & Energy Technology (WET) Incubator was the first green building constructed on the campus of California State University, Fresno.  The photovoltaic panels are capable of generating up to 52 kW of power operating parallel to grid using a grid-tied system through net metering.  The system contains 252 sharp ND-208U1 PV modules.  It generates 480 volts, three-phase AC electricity into the grid, a total of 52 (DC) kW / 51 (AC) kW at peak production.  The array can also be configured for independent operation of water pumps.

The system operates normally in a net metering state, with the energy produced operating the facility or going back to the university’s electric grid.  To meet the testing goals of ICWT, the system includes a manual Switchable Combiner Box and a VariMax™ Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) that will allow you to direct the power from the inverter to the VFD to power a 480 V water pump motor up to 50 hp.