General Electric: GE Renewable Energy to supply DC-Coupled system to Convergent for 123 MWh hybrid solar plus storage project in Upstate New York

GE will provide an integrated solar inverter and energy storage package that will use a DC-Coupled system for a 123 MWh hybrid solar plus storage distributed energy project across three sites
This is the largest hybrid solar plus storage system in New York to date
The battery system will store the energy produced by the solar arrays to enable dispatchable renewable energy integration into the grid
New York, Monday, March 15th, 2021 – GE Renewable Energy announced today that it has been selected by Convergent Energy + Power (Convergent) to provide an integrated solar inverter and energy storage package that will use a DC-Coupled system, for a 123 MWh hybrid solar plus storage project across three sites in Upstate New York. In aggregate, these projects will be the largest hybrid solar plus storage system in New York by a single owner. Construction on the hybrid systems has begun and is expected to reach commercial operation in the summer of 2021. GE will also provide a twenty- year service agreement.

These paired solar and storage projects support New York State’s clean energy goals by providing renewable energy to the grid at the most strategic times. Pairing energy storage with solar PV will allow New Yorkers to access solar energy whether or not the sun is shining and reduce the state’s reliance on power plants during peak demand hours.

Frank Genova, Chief Operating and Financial Officer, Convergent, said, “Convergent is leading the way on the development of groundbreaking DC coupled storage plus solar systems. We look forward to deploying GE’s systems across our community portfolio of hybrid resources.”

The system will use a direct DC-coupled configuration, with a single inverter and single point of interconnection shared by the solar array and the storage system, helping improve the overall energy output of the hybrid system while optimizing equipment and installation costs, and increasing the overall system reliability.

Prakash Chandra, Renewable Hybrids CEO, GE Renewable Energy, said, “Hybrid energy systems are all about the design and optimization of solutions at a plant level with the use of cutting-edge software-enabled controls, and GE is playing a leading role in building these solutions. We are thrilled to be working with Convergent on this new project that will set the pace for even more DC-coupled systems in the US and beyond.”