SMA MV Power Station MVPS 2660-S2 to 4600-S2 Guide

What it is and where it is used

The SMA MV Power Station (MVPS) is the medium-voltage station from SMA Solar Technology for 1500 V DC solar and storage plants. The current family consists of the MVPS 2660-S2, 2800-S2, 2930-S2 and 3060-S2, the MVPS 4000-S2, 4200-S2, 4400-S2 and 4600-S2 and, for batteries in the United States, the MVPS 8000-S4-US to 9200-S4-US. SMA describes it as a turnkey solution, with the station and all its components type-tested, mounted on a platform with the dimensions of a 20-foot container.

Unlike stations for string inverters (the architectures are compared in central or string inverters), the MVPS carries the central inverter inside: a Sunny Central UP for solar plants or a Sunny Central Storage UP for batteries. The PV field arrives at the station in direct current, and the transformer station delivers medium voltage to the collector network that ends at the plant’s step-up substation. In Chile, SMA announced in 2021 the supply of MV Power Stations with Sunny Central 4600 inverters for a 220 MW plant in the Atacama Desert. The WEG SKW solar skid is another electrocenter for string inverters.

Variants: MVPS 2660-S2 to 4600-S2 and S4-US

The type designation on the nameplate follows the pattern MVPS-xxxx-S2-10 (for example, MVPS-2660-S2-10).

Main characteristics

According to the data sheets of the S2 series:

• Input: up to 1500 V DC, with a DC switch-disconnector as the input-side disconnection point and type I surge arresters. Optional zone monitoring.
• Transformer: KNAN cooling (ester with natural air circulation), Dy11 vector group as standard (YNd11 or YNy0 as an option), tap changer and screen winding as options, and losses according to industry practice or to EN 50588-1 (Eco design 1 or 2).
• Medium voltage: typical voltages of 10 to 35 kV, 50 or 60 Hz. The output-side disconnection point is a medium-voltage vacuum circuit breaker, and the medium-voltage room declares IAC A 20 kA 1 s according to IEC 62271-202.
• Optional switchgear: none, one panel or three (two cable panels with switch-disconnectors and one transformer panel with a circuit breaker). IAC A FL 20 kA 1 s according to IEC 62271-200. Short-circuit current of 20 kA 1 s, 20 kA 3 s or 25 kA 1 s. For the 4000–4600 series, SMA mentions 24 kV SF6-free switchgear on its product page.
• Station service: transformer for external loads of 10 to 60 kVA as an option, and integrated oil containment as an option.
• Enclosure: control rooms IP23D and inverter electronics IP54; altitude of 1000 m as standard and 2000 m as an option.
• Declared standards (S2): IEC 60076, IEC 62271-200, IEC 62271-202 and EN 50588-1, with CSC certificate. The S4-US series declares IEEE 1547-2018, IEEE C57.12.00, IEEE C57.12.36, IEEE C57.154, IEEE C37.20.7, IEEE C37.20.9 and UL 1741.

Transformer and switchgear protection

The MVPS data sheet does not detail the functions of the transformer panel relay; those are defined by the project, as is the type of switchgear, because the panels are optional. What it does declare is the vacuum circuit breaker as the disconnection on the medium-voltage side and the transformer panel with a circuit breaker when all three panels are ordered. In practice the panel is protected with a phase and ground overcurrent relay, coordinated with the collector feeder at the substation. The signals of the transformer itself (temperature, pressure or level, depending on the design) are wired to the trip of that panel.

The plant interconnection protections (anti-islanding, transfer trip, voltage and frequency) are at the point of interconnection, not at the station.

Communications and integration

• The station is integrated through the Sunny Central UP inverter and its optional monitoring package.
• Plant control is separate: a plant controller distributes the active and reactive power setpoints to the inverters.
• The motorized transformer panel and the auxiliary contacts are optional accessories, needed if SCADA must command and supervise the breaker.

What is checked at commissioning

In general terms: inspection of the station and its grounding. Tests of the transformer and its insulation. Verification that the transformer signals trip the panel breaker. Secondary injection to the panel relay. Interlocks and gas pressure of the switchgear panels where present. Inverter tests unloaded and under power. Energization in stages from the collector network. The order and criteria are set by the project test plan; the guide to commissioning a solar skid covers solar plant commissioning tests.

According to the manufacturer’s manual

The operating manual of the MV Power Station with a Sunny Central UP (MVPS-S2-A7-BE-en-11, version 1.1, 2025), valid for the MVPS-####-S2-10, sets the order of disconnection and reconnection (§7). General summary, not a substitute for the manual:

• Disconnection order (§7.4.1). First the batteries, if any, then the station sub-distribution, the inverter, the transformer and, last, the complete station. The manual requires this order to be followed.
• The inverter (§7.4.4). Key switch at Stop and key removed, DC switch-disconnector open and padlocked, and the same for the supply. Wait 25 minutes for the capacitors to discharge. Then confirm that the AC disconnection unit is open, secure it and verify the absence of voltage at its terminals.
• The transformer (§7.4.6). With the inverter already disconnected and the doors of the medium-voltage room secured, open the transformer panel breaker and its disconnector, and verify the absence of voltage with the panel indicator. Then close the breaker again according to the panel documentation. Finally, padlock the breaker and, if needed, the earthing switch. The tap changer is operated only de-energized and never below −10 °C.
• The complete station (§7.4.7). Open the cable panel where there is one. Disconnect the station from the grid at the upstream panel following the five safety rules. Ground the cable panel (three-function panel) or the upstream and downstream panels (single-function panel).
• Warnings (§7.1). Check the insulating gas level before operating the panel. Operate with the room doors open and fixed, the arc relief flap clear and the internal arc pressure area cordoned off. Verify that no tools are left inside before reconnecting.
• Reconnection (§7.5). Remove the earths, reconnect from the grid, then the cable panel, the transformer (first removing the low-voltage side earth if one was applied), the sub-distribution and, last, the inverter.

Frequently asked technical questions

• Datasheet: SMA publishes a data sheet per series (2660–3060 S2, 4000–4600 S2 and S4-US). Ratings change with ambient temperature; read the 40 °C column and the 50 °C option.
• Installation manual: SMA provides it per project and in its download area. Foundations, clearances and cable connections are verified against the current revision.
• Inverter: the station inherits the grid functions of the Sunny Central UP (reactive power, voltage ride-through). Grid-code requirements are demonstrated for the complete plant, against the local code and the utility’s requirements.

How we help

At Tiza Group we carry out the testing and commissioning of medium-voltage stations and of the complete plant: transformer, switchgear and relay, the transformer’s own protections, communications and energization, in Colombia or elsewhere on request. See the scope in solar plant testing and commissioning. For coordination of the panel with the collector network and for engineering, see engineering design and studies. To request a quote, write to us through the contact page.

Related guides

• Solar transformer station (skid): what it is and its parts
• Central or string inverters in solar plants: architecture
• Solar plant step-up substation
• Solar plant commissioning tests
• Huawei JUPITER-9000K-H1 and STS-6000K-H1: solar station

References

• SMA Solar Technology, data sheet MV Power Station 2660-S2 / 2800-S2 / 2930-S2 / 3060-S2 (MVPS-S2-SC2xxxUP-DS-en-20).
• SMA Solar Technology, data sheet MV Power Station 4000-S2 / 4200-S2 / 4400-S2 / 4600-S2 (MVPS-S2-SC4xxxUP-DS-en-13).
• SMA Solar Technology, data sheet MV Power Station 8000-S4-US to 9200-S4-US.
• SMA Solar Technology, Operating manual MEDIUM VOLTAGE POWER STATION with 1 SUNNY CENTRAL UP / SUNNY CENTRAL STORAGE UP / ELECTROLYZER CONVERTER UP, MVPS-S2-A7-BE-en-11, version 1.1, 2025-09-15 (files.sma.de): §7.1 to §7.5, pp. 75–87.
• IEC 62271-202, high-voltage/low-voltage prefabricated substations.
• IEC 62271-200, AC metal-enclosed switchgear and controlgear.
• IEC 60076, power transformers.

Frequently asked questions