Merit Controls, a distributor of grid integration products, has launched its flagship PiQ41 grid integration product. The monitoring and controls platform manages utility-scale inverter-based generation resources and asset portfolios.
The PiQ41 (pronounced “Peak 41”) platform is a four-quadrant, single-cycle phasor-based control system. Additionally, it offers an integrated solution for hybrid systems, such as utility-scale solar, and wind power that optimize renewable generation and energy storage behind a common point of grid interconnection.
The control system is designed for Engineering, construction and procurement (EPC) companies and power facility operators to improve system availability to minimize downtime, mitigate compliance risks, and optimize performance in the Ancillary Services market.
Users of the PiQ41 platform benefit from a single turnkey solution that controls, monitors, and manages solar photovoltaic assets, energy storage systems, and other inverter-based resources, to meet evolving grid requirements.
The platform orchestrates the complex ecosystem of inverters and other controllable equipment necessary to meet grid requirements, ensuring reliable and consistent plant operations with over 99.9% control system availability. In addition, Merit’s source code for PiQ41 is domestically based on IEC 61131-3 programming for improved security and reliability.
“We offer our customers a secure platform of power plant controls for solar, storage, and hybrid systems that is seamlessly integrated with SCADA, plant communications, and meteorological (MET) stations for an efficient and proven solution,” said Tina Dornbusch, director of product management at Merit.
The PiQ41 platform name is derived from the company’s core values: Performance, Innovation, and Quality (PiQ), as it represents Merit’s commitment to performance, innovation, and high-quality service. The “41” refers to its four-quadrant, single-phasor controls technology.
Based in Somerville, N.J., Merit Controls is a division of Merit SI Technologies LLC, which is a portfolio company of Turner Renewable Energy, the clean energy development business of media mogul Ted Turner. The company operates a technology facility in Toledo, Ohio.
Other Merit products include the power plant controller (PPC), SCADA system, an Infrastructure, Network and Cybersecurity control system, and a Meteorological Station Field device.
Merit products have been deployed across 3.62 GW of utility projects in more than five independent system operator regions of the U.S. and Canada. Recent projects using Merit’s products include Topaz Solar (550 MW) in Carrizo Plain, Calif., and Desert Sunlight (550 MW) in Riverside County, Calif.
In October, Merit partnered with project developer Clenera to deploy Merit Controls products across the utility solar and storage developer’s U.S. generation fleet.
For information on the new PiQ41 platform or the company’s comprehensive product and service offerings, please visit the Merit website.
