THE AWARDEE WILL DEVELOP A COMPACT, HIGHLY EFFICIENT, AND LOWER-COST ARCHITECTURE FOR A PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) INVERTER SYSTEM THAT CONNECTS PV PANELS DIRECTLY TO A MEDIUM VOLTAGE (MV) GRID. THE SYSTEM IS PRIMARILY PARTITIONED INTO TWO SUBSYSTEMS, THE LOW VOLTAGE (LV) SUBSYSTEM AND THE MEDIUM VOLTAGE (MV) SUBSYSTEM, AND THE TOTAL POWER FOR THE FINAL INVERTER SYSTEM IS 1MW. THE GOAL FOR THE FIRST BUDGET PERIOD FOCUSES ON SUBSYSTEM HARDWARE DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING, SYSTEM COST ANALYSIS, AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT. THE SECOND BUDGET PERIOD GOAL INCLUDES, SUBSYSTEM INTEGRATION, FULL SYSTEM TESTING, REGULATORY EVALUATION, AND A COMMITMENT FROM A RELEVANT STAKEHOLDER FOR FURTHER COMMERCIALIZATION OF THE PRODUCT.