Solar Power Bears Fruit for Spanish Apple Producer Giropoma

• Company 555 KW rooftop solar system on its factory rooftop to counter escalating energy costs of producing and storing apples

• Leveraging a DC-optimized PV inverter and power optimizers, Giropoma has reduced grid electricity consumption by approximately 782,000 kW per year, amounting to annual savings of around €60,214

11^th of October 2023 – SolarEdge Technologies, a global leader in smart energy technology, today announced that Spanish apple producer, Giropoma, is saving €60,214 a year since installing solar on its factory rooftop in Costa Brava, Spain. Offsetting around 782,000kWh of grid electricity usage per year, the 555 KW photovoltaic (PV) system accounts for 25% of the facilities total energy consumption.

Giropoma’s business covers the entire scope of fruit production and sales including harvesting, storage and conservation, packing and delivery. In a bid to counter escalating energy consumption costs, Giropoma sought an eco-friendly solution to power its energy-intensive apple cleaning, waxing and refrigeration processes. The system has been successful in achieving Giropoma’s goal of maximizing the levelized cost of energy for its production processes, and increasing self-consumption.

The 1,984 panel PV system was designed and installed by Energy Tools, a local company that champions renewable energy. In order to maximize energy production from Giropoma’s limited rooftop space, Energy Tools chose SolarEdge’s DC-optimized PV inverter along with power optimizers connected directly to the solar panels. Power optimizers maximize energy production of each individual panel and any underperforming panels do not affect the entire PV array like a traditional string inverter. Having panel-level monitoring capabilities also enables Energy Tools to identify any underperforming PV modules immediately, reducing operation and maintenance costs.

According to Jordi Coll, Technical Director Energy Tools, meeting the stringent safety standards of Giropoma was also a key part of the decision-making process when choosing the right PV technology.

“Safety was very important to Giropoma, as the factory houses all of their employees, expensive machinery and of course, their products,” says Coll. “If a PV system is installed correctly, advanced safety features such as Safe DC, built-in rapid shutdown functionality and arc fault detection and prevention, should be non-negotiable. Unfortunately, not all PV inverter manufacturers offer these, but this is where SolarEdge excels.”