Huawei JUPITER-9000K-H1 and STS-6000K-H1 Solar Station

Short answer

The Huawei JUPITER-9000K-H1 (and its siblings JUPITER-6000K-H1 and JUPITER-3000K-H1) is a Smart Transformer Station: a 20-foot container with a low-voltage panel, an oil-filled step-up transformer and SF6 medium-voltage switchgear, which receives SUN2000-330KTL string inverters at 800 V and delivers 10 to 35 kV to the collector network. It has no inverter inside. The transformer switchgear uses a vacuum breaker with a 50/51, 50N/51N relay, and the previous generation is the JUPITER-9000K-H0 with the STS-6000K-H1 and STS-3000K-H1.

What it is and where it is used

The Huawei JUPITER-9000K-H1 is Huawei Digital Power’s Smart Transformer Station (STS) for utility-scale solar plants, together with the JUPITER-6000K-H1 and the JUPITER-3000K-H1. In the previous generation it was called JUPITER-9000K-H0, STS-6000K-H1 and STS-3000K-H1, and in the field both names often coexist. Huawei presents it as a prefabricated, factory-tested station in a 20-foot high-cube ISO container, with no internal wiring to do on site.

Unlike stations with a central inverter, the JUPITER has no inverter inside. The SUN2000 string inverters are installed next to the modules and arrive at 800 V AC at the station’s low-voltage panel. There a step-up transformer takes them to medium voltage and the switchgear delivers them to the collector network, which ends at the plant step-up substation. This assembly is known as a skid, transformer station or MV power station. The WEG SKW solar skid is another electrocenter for string inverters.

Variants: JUPITER-9000K-H1, JUPITER-6000K-H1, JUPITER-3000K-H1 and STS

Model	Application	Main difference
JUPITER-9000K-H1	Solar plant with SUN2000-330KTL-H1/-H2	9000 kVA at 40 °C; three-winding Dy11-y11 transformer; up to 30 MCCB inputs
JUPITER-6000K-H1	Solar plant with SUN2000-330KTL-H1/-H2	6600 kVA at 40 °C; three-winding Dy11-y11; up to 22 MCCB inputs
JUPITER-3000K-H1	Solar plant or small blocks	3300 kVA at 40 °C; two-winding Dy11 transformer
JUPITER-9000K-H0	Previous generation, with SUN2000-215KTL-H0	9000 kVA at 40 °C; Modbus TCP communication with SmartACU2000D
STS-6000K-H1	Previous generation, with SUN2000-215KTL-H0	6800 kVA at 40 °C; Modbus RTU communication with SmartACU2000D
STS-3000K-H1	Previous generation, with SUN2000-215KTL-H0	3400 kVA at 40 °C; Dy11 transformer

The H1 generation datasheet also supports the LUNA2000-213KTL-H0 battery converter, so the same station can serve storage blocks.

Main features

According to the datasheet of the JUPITER-9000K/6000K/3000K-H1:

Low voltage: rated input voltage of 800 V, panel with form of separation 2b, ACB main breakers of 4000 A (two on the 9000K) or 2900 A, and one 400 A MCCB output per inverter. Type I+II surge arresters.
Transformer: oil-filled, conservator type, ONAN cooling with mineral oil or KNAN with optional natural ester, taps of ±2 × 2.5 % and peak efficiency per EN 50588-1. Dy11-y11 vector group on the 9000K and 6000K, and Dy11 on the 3000K.
Transformer’s own protections: oil level, temperature and pressure, and Buchholz relay.
Medium voltage: output of 10 to 35 kV, 50 or 60 Hz. SF6-insulated RMU switchgear, with a vacuum breaker panel for the transformer and direct-cable or switch-disconnector panels for the ring in and out.
Internal arc: IAC A 20 kA 1 s as standard (25 kA optional), with medium-voltage arc venting upward per IEC 62271-202; on the low-voltage side, tested per IEC 61641 up to class C.
Auxiliary services: 5 kVA single-phase dry-type transformer, or 50 kVA three-phase as an option; 2 kVA UPS and transformer surge arresters as options.
Enclosure: medium- and low-voltage rooms IP54, C5-M anticorrosion protection, operation from −25 °C to 60 °C and up to 1000 m without consulting the manufacturer.
Declared standards: IEC 62271-202, IEC 62271-200, IEC 60076, IEC 61439-1 and EN 50588-1.

Transformer switchgear protection

This is the point most often asked about in engineering. The datasheet declares a medium-voltage relay with 50/51 and 50N/51N in the standard version. The «High Standard» version adds, depending on the control scheme chosen, functions such as 87 differential, 50BF breaker failure, 51G, inrush blocking and external trip by temperature (49T); another variant also includes 27, 59, 59N, 79 and 86.

None of these functions replaces the protections at the plant’s point of connection. The station relay protects its transformer and its switchgear; anti-islanding, transfer trip and the utility’s requirements are handled at the substation. What trips what inside the station is covered in solar station trips.

Communications and integration

H1: the station ships preconfigured with the integrated SmartACU and communicates over Modbus TCP.
H0 and STS: the datasheet states Modbus TCP for the JUPITER-9000K-H0 and Modbus RTU for the STS, both preconfigured with the SmartACU2000D. According to Huawei, the SmartACU2000D handles Modbus TCP and IEC 60870-5-104 over Ethernet, and Modbus RTU, IEC 60870-5-103 and DL/T645 over RS485.
Control: Huawei advertises remote control of the low-voltage ACBs and the medium-voltage breaker, and real-time monitoring of the transformer, the panel and the RMU.

The plant’s power setpoints do not come from the station: the plant controller (PPC) distributes them to the inverters.

What is checked at commissioning

Without going into the procedure in detail, commissioning includes:

receiving and inspecting the container, grounding and medium-voltage cable connections;
transformer tests (ratio, insulation, winding resistance) and verification that the Buchholz, pressure and temperature signals reach the switchgear trip;
switchgear relay by secondary injection and real breaker trip, SF6 pressure and RMU interlocks;
low-voltage panel, auxiliary services and communication with SCADA;
staged energization from the collector network and, afterwards, inverter start-up.

The guide on commissioning a solar skid details each stage.

According to the manufacturer’s manual

The user manual of the JUPITER-(3000K, 6000K, 9000K)-H1 family, edition 03 of 2024 (in English), describes how the station is operated. This is a general summary, not a substitute for the manual:

RMU composition (§2.4.4). Three panels: G1 and G3 for the ring in and out, and G2 for the transformer, with breaker and disconnector. Depending on the order, the RMU is CVC, DVC, CCV or DCV (C, switch-disconnector with earthing; D, direct cable; V, breaker) and comes from DQS, Ormazabal (CGM.3) or Siemens (8DJH). The manual warns that the RMU’s cable connection and interlocks vary with the project.
Key interlocks, optional (§4.2.1, §4.2.2 and §4.5.1). The low-voltage ACB only closes with a key that is released when the G2 disconnector is closed, and the disconnector cannot be operated again until that key returns from the open ACB. The G2 earthing switch only opens with the transformer room door locked closed, and that door only opens with the earthing switch closed. Between stations, another key chain links the earthing switch of one station to the earthing switch or cable door of the next, and is set up at commissioning in installation order.
Taking the transformer out of service (§6.2 and §6.2.2). The inverter input MCCBs and the ACB are opened first. Then, at G2, the breaker, the disconnector and the earthing switch, with the operating hole locked and a do-not-operate tag. Finally the low-voltage busbar is discharged with an earthing cable. With the CGM.3 RMU, which has top disconnection, the manual closes the G2 breaker again before closing the earthing switch (§6.2.1).
Times and warnings (§6.1). Wait at least 10 minutes after the equipment stops, with the voltage indicator off, the V panel earthing switch closed and the low-voltage panel earthed. Place tags on the ACB and on the medium-voltage side, and disable automatic mode where it exists. After a trip from pressure relief, gas or emergency stop, the REMOTE/LOCAL selectors switch to LOCAL, the fault is corrected and the signals are reset before returning to REMOTE.
Energization (§4.2.3 to §4.7). With the earthing switches open and the RMU disconnectors closed, the line is energized from the substation; then, station by station, the spring is charged and the G2 breaker is closed. The manual asks for two people to energize the transformer, one of them with an insulated rescue hook, with everyone else more than 10 m away, and describes a loud hum that settles in about 5 seconds. Next come the auxiliaries, the ACB (closed in LOCAL and returned to REMOTE), 24 hours at no load recommended and, last, the MCCBs, the DC switches and the inverter start-up.

You can practice the two G2 switchgear maneuvers, with that key interlock, in the solar plant switching simulator: tasks «Huawei STS station: take the transformer out of service per the manual» and «return the transformer to service per the manual».

Frequently asked technical questions

Datasheet and manual: Huawei publishes the datasheet of each generation (H0 and H1), an installation manual and a user manual with the station operation. Work with the revision that matches the delivered equipment, because the ratings and the supported inverters change between generations.
JUPITER or STS: the name changes with the generation; the architecture is the same (LV panel, transformer, RMU).
Projects in Colombia: no public source we consulted confirms a JUPITER installed in Colombia. The published solar parks with Huawei inverters in the country do not detail the station.
Connection requirements: compliance is demonstrated for the whole plant, with the studies and tests before the utility.

How we help

At Tiza Group we perform the tests and commissioning of the transformer stations and of the whole plant: transformer, medium-voltage switchgear and relay, own protections, communications and energization, in Colombia or elsewhere on request. See the scope in solar plant testing and commissioning. If the plant is in design, we do the protection coordination and engineering under engineering design and studies. For a quote, write to us through the contact page.

References

Huawei Digital Power, JUPITER-9000K/6000K/3000K-H1 datasheet (built-in SACU).
Huawei Digital Power, JUPITER-9000K-H0 / STS-6000K/3000K-H1 datasheet and SmartACU2000D specifications.
Huawei Technologies, JUPITER-(3000K, 6000K, 9000K)-H1 Smart Transformer Station User Manual, edition 03, 2024-03-08: §2.4.4, §4.2 to §4.7 and §6.1 to §6.4.
IEC 62271-202, prefabricated high-voltage/low-voltage substations.
IEC 62271-200, AC metal-enclosed switchgear and controlgear.
IEC 60076, power transformers.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between the Huawei JUPITER-9000K-H1 and the STS-6000K-H1?

They are two generations of the same Smart Transformer Station. According to Huawei's datasheets, the JUPITER-9000K-H1, JUPITER-6000K-H1 and JUPITER-3000K-H1 receive the SUN2000-330KTL-H1 or -H2 inverters and are rated 9000, 6600 and 3300 kVA at 40 °C. The previous generation, JUPITER-9000K-H0 with the STS-6000K-H1 and STS-3000K-H1, receives the SUN2000-215KTL-H0 and is rated 9000, 6800 and 3400 kVA at 40 °C.

Does the JUPITER station include the inverter?

No. The JUPITER and the STS are transformer stations for string inverters: they gather in a low-voltage panel the outputs of the SUN2000 inverters installed in the field, step the voltage up with the transformer and deliver it to the collector network through the medium-voltage switchgear. The inverter stays next to the modules, not in the container.

What protection does the JUPITER transformer have?

The datasheet declares a vacuum breaker panel for the transformer with a 50/51 and 50N/51N relay in the standard version, and a «High Standard» version that adds, among others, 87, 50BF and 51G. The transformer also carries oil level, temperature and pressure detection and a Buchholz relay. What is used and with which settings is defined by the plant protection study.