Optimizers & Inverters – pv magazine USA

Smart inverter adoption is generally slow nationwide, says Sunrun executive

William Driscoll — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 16:26:19 +0000

To greatly increase hosting capacity for distributed solar and storage, Sunrun executive Steven Rymsha calls for faster adoption of smart inverters using default settings, along with related consumer protections, and ultimately a plug-and-play experience for customers buying rooftop solar.

The pace at which states and utilities are requiring smart inverters for new distributed solar and storage installations “generally continues to be slow,” said Steven Rymsha, Sunrun’s director of grid solutions, public policy.

That matters because work in Hawaii, he said, has shown that hosting capacity for distributed solar and storage can increase by as much as 500% on a distribution circuit where smart inverters use default settings that regulate voltage. Hawaii’s main utility has greatly expanded its hosting capacity by requiring smart inverters that meet a global standard known as IEEE 1547-2018. Rymsha made his comments in an interview.

By regulating voltage, smart inverters enable more distributed solar and storage on a distribution circuit without the need for costly utility voltage regulation hardware. That’s true not just for a primary distribution circuit, Rymsha said, but also on a customer’s secondary circuit, or service connection from the customer’s service transformer—a circuit that may serve up to 10 or more customers.

In Hawaii, California and Illinois, the earliest adopters of smart inverter capabilities, Rymsha said “the research and the real-world experience” show that the IEEE default settings for the smart inverter functions known as volt-var and volt-watt “make a lot of sense.” Even before that, in the IEEE standards development process, he said the default settings were “well vetted by utilities and other stakeholders.”

Rymsha said that while the smart inverter settings being selected by states “should go through stakeholder processes,” enabling smart inverter voltage regulation functions quickly “is going to make interconnection easier for customers today and long into the future.”

Not-smart inverters

Eight states, along with certain utilities in 13 states, now require that distributed solar and storage installations use smart inverters that meet the IEEE 1547-2018 standard, according to a tracker maintained by the nonprofit group IREC.

Yet IREC’s tracker shows that some of the states and utilities that have adopted smart inverters specify that the inverters must use a volt-var setting that does not help control voltage on a distribution circuit. Without controlling voltage, the setting, which IREC’s tracker refers to as “unity power factor,” does not improve the circuit’s hosting capacity for solar and storage.

Rymsha noted that smart inverters also have functionalities that can support the transmission grid, and that settings enabling those functionalities are now required for newly installed smart inverters in the New England grid region ISO-NE. Yet the volt-var and volt-watt settings that regulate voltage on a distribution circuit “are still not being used across that entire region,” he said.

Other states, he said, are in a similar circumstance, as they are requiring the latest inverters, but without the voltage management settings enabled. “The pace of function activation should be accelerated,” Rymsha said.

Asked whether it would be feasible for a state to call for updating the settings in smart inverters used in rooftop solar systems after the systems are installed, Rymsha said that for inverters that have an internet connection, “I am aware of new grid codes being pushed to inverters, but the process in Hawaii to do this was complicated as it required customer consent in some form.”

Consumer protection

In Puerto Rico, where the distribution utility is expected to require smart inverters starting July 1, Rymsha said Sunrun is advocating for consumer protections as it participates in stakeholder discussions about smart inverters.

Rymsha anticipates the utility will require smart inverters to use the IEEE’s default volt-var and volt-watt settings, and if so, there should be “a consumer protection package, similar to what Hawaii has rolled out,” he said. California and Maryland have also set consumer protection packages when they required that both functions be activated, he added.

Hawaii, working in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, used a custom setting similar to the IEEE default setting for the volt-var function, and activated volt-watt for all customers, Rymsha said, “which really revolutionized the interconnection process for everyone.” Hawaii’s main utility uses advanced metering infrastructure data to monitor voltages, he said, plus the volt-watt function which enables curtailment to maintain voltage within the proper range when needed. But “if there is excessive curtailment, the utilities are responsible to upgrade the infrastructure within a predetermined amount of time.”

“We think something like that’s needed for Puerto Rico as well,” he said.

Plug and play

Beyond seeing “a lot of opportunity” to use smart inverter settings to enable greater adoption of distributed solar and storage, Rymsha sees an opportunity to “make it like buying any other product you like,” where a customer buys the product, “and very quickly it’s being delivered to your house and operating.”

“For a lot of customers today,” he said, their expectations start out “very high, and then when they get involved in the utility processes, delays can occur without any visibility from the development community—just big, big bottlenecks.”

“As we look to electrify society, we need to look at how we can radically change utility processes on the interconnection side, to really make distributed energy resources an attractive, consumer-friendly solution. And as these get built out at scale, there’s a lot of opportunities to provide grid services; ideally, that’s all packaged up front.”

In case you missed it: Five big solar stories in the news this week

pv magazine — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 22:00:25 +0000

pv magazine USA spotlights news of the past week including market trends, project updates, policy changes and more.

Final guidance is in on IRA’s prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements According to the Treasury Department, taxpayers developing clean energy projects may be able to claim an increased credit equal to five times the base incentive.

Another residential solar installer closes up shop Titan Solar Power, a residential solar installer founded in 2013 in Arizona, sent an email to its employees informing them it has failed to sell the company to prospective buyers and will close its doors permanently.

Nextracker has acquired foundation specialist Ojjo in an all-cash transaction for approximately $119 million Ojjo is a California-based renewable energy company specializing in unique truss systems that uses half the steel of a conventional foundation and a design that reportedly minimizes grading requirements in utility-scale projects.

Arizona’s largest energy storage project closes $513 million in financing The 1,200 MWh Papago Storage project will dispatch enough power to serve 244,000 homes for four hours a day with the e-Storage SolBank high-cycle lithium-ferro-phosphate battery energy storage solution.

Longi claims 34.6% efficiency for perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell The European Solar Test Installation (ESTI) confirmed Longi’s achievement of a world record-breaking efficiency rating of 34.6% for a perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell.

Longi solar module.

Image: Longi

Sunrise brief: U.S. solar trade case moves forward

pv magazine — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 12:00:29 +0000

Also on the rise: Bosch unveils water source heat pumps for residential, commercial applications. More states now require smart inverters, enabling more distributed solar. And more.

Bosch unveils water source heat pumps for residential, commercial applications Bosch Home Comfort has presented two new heat pumps series that can be used for both retrofits and new buildings. Both products have a size of a size of ½ to 6 tons and a coefficient of performance of up to 4.9.

Community solar increases energy equity, report finds For the first time research looks at data about households adopting community solar along with policy that promotes outreach, and the results confirm that coalition efforts are beneficial.

U.S. solar trade case moves forward The U.S. International Trade Commission unanimously voted that solar cell manufacturing in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, supported by local incentives, is harming U.S. industry. This decision paves the way for the Commerce Department to finalize its determinations on Countervailing Duties by July 18 and Anti-Dumping duties by October 1.

Empowering multifamily housing with Solar for All grants As multifamily housing emerges as a key player in the solar revolution, it is poised to not only benefit from but also drive positive change in the clean energy landscape.

Longi presents 24.4%-efficient 660 W HPBC solar panel Intended for applications in utility-scale PV projects, the new Hi-MO 9 module is available in eight versions with power output ranging from 625 W to 660 W and power conversion efficiency spanning from 23.1% to 24.4%.

More states now require smart inverters, enabling more distributed solar Pennsylvania and Minnesota have joined six other states in requiring smart inverters for distributed solar and storage. Certain utilities in 13 states and Puerto Rico also require smart inverters, while six states are considering the requirement. Smart inverters enable more solar on distribution circuits.

More states now require smart inverters, enabling more distributed solar

William Driscoll — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 18:32:29 +0000

Pennsylvania and Minnesota have joined six other states in requiring smart inverters for distributed solar and storage. Certain utilities in 13 states and Puerto Rico also require smart inverters, while six states are considering the requirement. Smart inverters enable more solar on distribution circuits.

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) has launched a spreadsheet tracker and map showing that eight states and certain utilities across the U.S. now require smart inverters for new distributed solar and storage installations.

Installers working in those states and utility service areas must use inverters that are certified to meet the smart inverter standard known as IEEE 1547-2018. Inverters meeting the standard can regulate voltage on a distribution circuit, and that capability allows more solar to be installed on each circuit without utility-supplied voltage regulation hardware.

Pennsylvania and Minnesota adopted the smart inverter standard early this year, after Minnesota had deferred its adoption based on the previously limited market availability of qualifying inverters, said an IREC spokesperson.

The Puerto Rico distribution utility Luma adopted the standard this month; Puerto Rico last year led the nation in the amount of residential solar installed per capita.

Smart inverters’ capability to regulate voltage becomes increasingly important as the amount of distributed solar on a given circuit increases. In Hawaii, for example, which reached high levels of solar on distribution circuits by 2021, a Sunrun executive said at the time that thanks to the smart inverter settings required by the utility HECO, which serves nearly the entire state, most customers could “instantly interconnect” new solar. California has also had good success with smart inverters, while Oregon this year adopted the standard and also made it easier for export-limiting distributed storage projects to receive interconnection approval.

Other states with smart inverter requirements, according to the IREC adoption tracker, are New Mexico, Maryland and Massachusetts.

In New York, which set a state-wide smart inverter requirement with different deadlines for its utilities, several utilities have already adopted the standard.

Regulators in six other states are in the process of adopting smart inverter requirements: Colorado, Texas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio and New Jersey.

In 11 other states at least one utility has adopted the standard.

The tracker shows that the grid operator PJM, which serves a region stretching from Chicago to New Jersey, has recommended a smart inverter adoption date and inverter settings for the states and utilities in the region.

To compile the tracker, IREC investigated the smart inverter adoption status of every state and more than 100 utilities. The tracker presents inverter performance criteria, or settings, specified by the various states and utilities. IREC plans to update the tracker on a quarterly basis.

Sunrise brief: Fronius unveils residential string inverter for rooftop solar.

pv magazine — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 12:11:26 +0000

Also on the rise: Vermont becomes first state with Climate Superfund Act. Solar project developers face opposition from Joshua Tree conservationists. And more.

PVRadar offers solar project risk assessments factoring in historical climate data PVRadar Labs has expanded its software platform to include PV project risk assessment functionality, reportedly enabling more realistic performance estimates based on historical climate data.

JinkoSolar claims 33.24% efficiency for perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells JinkoSolar says it has achieved a 33.24% efficiency rating for its perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells, confirmed by the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Vermont becomes first state with Climate Superfund Act The Vermont legislation intends to hold fossil fuel corporations responsible for climate change.

Fronius unveils residential string inverter for rooftop solar The Fronius Gen24 hybrid inverter comes to North America after success in Europe.

Solar project developers face opposition from Joshua Tree conservationists The site of the Aratina Solar Center in Kern County, California, is home to western Joshua trees, and therefore the developer has to comply with the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act that was enacted in July 2023. Incidental Take Permits authorize renewable energy developers to remove trees with an option to pay a standard mitigation fee rather than complete mitigation actions.

Texas to host 300 MW of geomechanical energy storage projects Quidnet Energy, a provider of geomechanical energy storage (GES) technology, has joined hands with distributed energy resources developer Hunt Energy Network to deliver 300 MW of storage projects in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid operating region.

SunPower now offers Tesla Powerwall 3 to residential solar customers

Anne Fischer — Thu, 23 May 2024 18:46:45 +0000

SunPower Financial reported it has expanded its suite of solar financing options to include loan and lease financing through Mosaic for Tesla battery installations.

SunPower announced it will now be offering Tesla Powerwall 3 as part of its portfolio of residential solar and storage products.

“Homeowners are increasingly turning to battery storage to protect themselves against ongoing utility rate hikes and grid outages. We witnessed record-breaking battery storage sales in 2024 and see a future where almost all solar systems are paired with storage,” said Shawn Fitzgerald, SVP corporate development and product strategy at SunPower.

Tesla launched the Powerwall 3 in 2024 after it was unveiled at the RE+ trade e show in September 2023. It has the same storage capacity as the Powerwall 2 (13.5 kWh) but a key differentiator is that it can provide at least 50% more power at 11.5 kW of continuous power. It is a hybrid battery with the solar and battery inverter fully integrated, and is designed for new solar installations as opposed to retrofits. Some of the innovations over the Powerwall 2 are that it is reportedly easier to install, and it is smaller and lighter, while slightly deeper.

“Pairing Tesla Powerwall 3 with our industry-leading SunPower Equinox solar system was a natural progression in offering homeowners the best products on the market.” Fitzgerald said.

According to a report by Wood Mackenzie, one in every four American homeowners who install rooftop solar this year will also add battery storage. Reasons include resiliency as well as changes in net metering policy such as California’s NEM 3.0, which cut payments for exported solar energy by about 75%.

Powerwall was the choice in over half of home battery installations last year, according to Wood Mackenzie.

“Expanding access to Tesla Powerwall 3 allows us to offer homeowners a comprehensive energy solution under one roof including sales, financing and installation,” said Joe Holstein, owner of SunPower by Quality Home Services, a SunPower Master Dealer.

SunPower Financial reported it has expanded its suite of solar financing options to include loan and lease financing through Mosaic for Tesla battery installations. SunPower reports that qualified customers can finance a Powerwall 3 with no down payment.

SunPower specializes in residential solar installations, a market that has been hard hit by rising interest rates and policy changes such as NEM 3.0 In April SunPower announced it planned to close business segments as it restructures to lower costs. At the time the company’s stock was trading 96% lower than all-time highs and was down 86% over the past year.

SunPower’s revenues reported last December reflected a 28% year-over-year decline, while operating expenses increased, and net income resulted in a loss of $123.9 million. The company said that after a short transition period, all project pipeline operations from pre-installation through system activation would be conducted by Blue Raven Solar and other installation partners and SunPower certified dealers.

Sunrise brief: Renewables must triple by 2030 to hit net-zero by 2050

pv magazine — Thu, 23 May 2024 12:00:33 +0000

Also on the rise: EV manufacturer Rivian invests in solar energy. Market impacts from the recent flurry of solar policy actions. And more.

GoodWe U.S. inverter on Sunnova’s approved vendor list This partnership allows GoodWe and Sunnova to meet the growing demand by commercial and industrial customers that want to stabilize energy costs.

Renewables must triple by 2030 to hit net-zero by 2050, says BloombergNEF BloombergNEF says in a new report that solar and wind must drive most emissions cuts before 2030 to stay on track for net-zero by 2050. Its net-zero scenario targets a combined solar and wind capacity of 31 TW by 2050.

Acciona completes Texas-size solar project near Houston The 458 MW Red-Tailed Hawk solar plant is the company’s largest solar plant to date.

EV manufacturer Rivian invests in solar energy Rivian will subscribe to community solar and purchase renewable energy certificates (RECs).

Market impacts from the recent flurry of solar policy actions The U.S. had an extremely busy week of policy changes, including AD/CVD, domestic content, bifacial panel exemptions, and changes to 301 tariffs.

Enel, Energy Vault build 18 MW/36 MWh of U.S. gravity storage Energy Vault and Enel have revealed plans to build 18 MW/36 MWh of gravity storage in the United States. They say that the project will be the first large-scale gravity energy storage in a Western country.

GoodWe U.S. inverter on Sunnova’s approved vendor list

Anne Fischer — Wed, 22 May 2024 16:49:30 +0000

This partnership allows GoodWe and Sunnova to meet the growing demand by commercial and industrial customers that want to stabilize energy costs.

GoodWe Technologies, a solar inverter and smart energy specialist, announced that it has been added to the approved vendor list of Sunnova Energy. This partnership enables Sunnova to provide GoodWe’s SMT-US inverter for medium- to large-scale commercial and industrial (C&I) solar sites.

This partnership allows GoodWe and Sunnova to meet the growing demand by commercial and industrial customers that want to stabilize energy costs.

GoodWe reports that its SMT-US three-phase, 50/60 kW inverter provides improved safety and design flexibility, and meets safety shutdown standards with a built-in rapid shutdown transmitter that eliminates the need to install additional module-level hardware. It also complies with safety standards with type II surge protection for both DC and AC to prevent voltage spikes.

The SMT-US inverters have up to 6 MPPTs and a Max 15A DC input current per string for high-power module compatibility. GoodWe claims that the inverter’s 150% DC input oversizing, 110% AC output overloading, and 180-980V wide input operating range provides for improved system uptime and increases the system’s energy output during the system’s lifetime. Furthermore, the company says the inverter has a unique fuse-free design that increases reliability while decreasing maintenance requirements, thus lowering operating costs.

“GoodWe’s C&I inverters offer benefits at every stage of the system lifecycle, from design flexibility during planning to simpler O&M and increased system uptime after interconnection,” stated Michael Mendik, country manager of GoodWe USA and Canada. “By collaborating with Sunnova, an industry-leading energy services company with national reach, GoodWe is expanding and simplifying access to its products across the U.S. as market demand is on the rise and EPCs are looking for cost-effective and competitive solutions to grow and scale their businesses.”

GoodWe offers products and solutions tailored for residential, commercial and industrial, and utility-scale PV systems. The company reports that it has over 52 GW of installations in over 100 countries and regions.

Sunnova Energy International, a provider of solar, energy storage, and home energy adaptive services, has been in the news recently for its Q1 2024 earnings report as well as recent partnerships, such as with Home Depot, for which it is now the sole provider of solar and energy storage for Home Depot customers.

In a less than stellar earnings report, the company noted a continued decline in revenues amid a challenging U.S. macroeconomic environment for the residential solar industry. Investors had been concerned about the company’s ability to generate enough cash. In response the company continued reductions in operational costs and secured unrestricted cash, which increased by $18.9 million in the first quarter compared to the prior quarter. The company reports it now has about $232 million in unrestricted cash.

Tigo introduces power electronics supporting solar modules up to 800 W

Ryan Kennedy — Wed, 08 May 2024 18:16:50 +0000

The new MLPE from Tigo is designed to support commercial and industrial as well as utility-scale solar projects.

Tigo Energy announced a new line of module-level power electronics (MLPE), the Tigo TS4-X line. The MLPE product line is designed to support newer high-powered solar modules with power ratings up to 800 W.

“The installers operating at the cutting edge of solar are pushing the envelope on system output as well as cost, and the TS4-X closes an important gap at the top end of the module performance spectrum,” said Jing Tian, chief growth officer at Tigo Energy.

The device offers module-level power optimization, monitoring, and rapid shutdown. The new devices are compatible with a large list of third-party solar inverters, said Tigo.

Tigo combines its MLPE and solar optimizer technology with cloud-based software capabilities for energy monitoring and control. Tigo MLPE products boost module performance, enable real-time energy monitoring, and provide code-required rapid shutdown at the module level.

Three different product lines in the TS40X include TS4-X-O with optimization and advanced module-level monitoring, the TS4-X-S with advanced monitoring, and the rapid shutdown-only TS4-X-F.

All three product lines include a 25 A rating and 80 V maximum input voltage. Tigo said the new product line can be designed with selective optimizer deployment across the array, supporting a low levelized cost of electricity (LCOE).

Tigo TS4-X MLPE devices are IEC and UL certified for global acceptance and are compliant with NEC 2017 and 2020 690.12 Rapid Shutdown specifications when installed with the Tigo RSS Transmitter and UL PVRSS-certified inverter or an inverter with a built-in Tigo-certified transmitter.

Tigo said the frame-mounted MLPE can be installed in 10 seconds and is connected via industry-standard MC4 connectors and an IP68 enclosure for durability.

The company also develops and manufactures products such as inverters and battery storage systems for the residential solar-plus-storage market.

Sunrise brief: Microsoft announces largest-ever corporate procurement of renewable energy

pv magazine — Thu, 02 May 2024 12:31:33 +0000

Also on the rise: Virginia General Assembly passes pro-solar legislation. Briggs & Stratton releases 6.6 kWh stackable home battery. And more.

Sinovoltaics releases inverter manufacturer financial stability ranking Sinovoltaics analyzed publicly traded inverter producers using a balance sheet-based model and publicly available financial information to track financial strength over the past three years. The top-five in the latest ranking are Hoymiles Power Electronics, Enphase, Kstar, Eaton, and Goodwe.

Swiss company Staubli expands U.S. manufacturing of solar components Staubli plans to increase manufacturing of American-made connectors and wire harnesses in its California and North Carolina facilities.

Virginia General Assembly passes pro-solar legislation Going into effect July 1, passage of House Bill 1062 and Senate Bill 271 will further incentivize solar and energy storage at the residential and commercial levels.

Briggs & Stratton releases 6.6 kWh stackable home battery The 3.33 kW / 6.65 kWh lithium-ferro-phosphate battery offers home backup and storage of rooftop solar generation.

Microsoft announces largest-ever corporate procurement of renewable energy The tech giant signed on for 10.5 GW of renewable energy with Brookfield Renewable Partners, which may cost more than $11.5 billion to build, according to Bloomberg NEF.

People on the move: Enphase, Leeward Renewable Energy, Advantage Renewables and more Job moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities and energy transition finance.

Sinovoltaics releases inverter manufacturer financial stability ranking

Valerie Thompson — Wed, 01 May 2024 13:00:55 +0000

Sinovoltaics analyzed publicly traded inverter producers using a balance sheet-based model and publicly available financial information to track financial strength over the past three years. The top-five in the latest ranking are Hoymiles Power Electronics, Enphase, Kstar, Eaton, and Goodwe.

From pv magazine Global

Sinovoltaics, a Hong Kong-based technical compliance and quality assurance service firm, has released the second edition of its Sinovoltaics PV inverter manufacturer financial stability ranking. The company said the results, which are calculated since June 2020, provide insight into the stability of the scores over time. The report, which has a global scope, is free to download.

The Sinovoltaics’ financial stability ranking is based on a so-called Altmann Z-score, a quantitative formula that uses multiple corporate income and balance sheet values to measure the financial health of a company. It assesses a company’s financial strength through a credit-strength test based on profitability, leverage, liquidity, solvency, and activity ratios, according to Sinovoltaics.

A score that is 1.1 or lower indicates a higher probability of bankruptcy within the next two years, while a higher score of 2.6 or great

The inverter manufacturers leading the ranking are China’s Hoymiles Power Electronics, U.S.-based microinverter specialist Enphase Energy, Shenzen-based Kstar Science and Technology, Irish energy management specialist Eaton, China’s Goodwe and Sinexcel, Taiwan’s Delta Electronics, Clenergy and Hopewind, both based in China, and Switzerland’s ABB.

“Overall the global PV inverter market has grown steadily in tandem with worldwide solar PV installations. In this regard, we can see in our Sinovoltaics Manufacturer Ranking reports that the vast majority of the inverter makers included are financially healthy or stable,” Niclas Weimar, Sinovoltaics’ chief technology officer told pv magazine, adding that there are two inverter manufacturing trends worth noting.

“One [trend] is that Chinese inverter manufacturers are outpacing their European and U.S.-American peers in terms of global market share, with over 50% shared between Sungrow and Huawei,” said Weimar.

The other trend is that inverter manufacturers, along with many PV module makers, are “tapping into battery energy storage manufacturing” with Sungrow also taking the lead here as measured in MWh shipments, according to Weimar.

Sunrise brief: Sungrow posts $1.3 billion profit for 2023

pv magazine — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 12:05:44 +0000

Also on the rise: Major defense company plans to cut emissions almost in half by investing in renewables. New green bank to support distributed solar and storage in the Appalachian region. And more.

South Korea plans 120 GW space solar project Two Korean research institutes are designing the 2.2 km × 2.7 km Korean Space Solar Power Satellite project with the aim of providing approximately 1 TWh of electricity to the Earth per year. The proposed system should use 4,000 sub-solar arrays of 10 m × 270 m, made out of thin film roll-out, with a system power efficiency of 13.5%.

Sungrow posts $1.3 billion profit for 2023 Chinese inverter manufacturer Sungrow shipped 130 GW of inverters last year, reaching a profit of $1.3 billion.

Hitachi Energy to invest more than $100 million to manufacture transformers in Canada To help meet the demand for transformers, the Government of Quebec is helping with funding of a testing facility as well as an engineering and design center.

New green bank to support distributed solar and storage in the Appalachian region The Green Bank for Rural America will support community lenders in Appalachian communities to finance climate-supporting projects including distributed solar and storage. The bank and four others received a total of $6 billion in federal awards.

Major defense company plans to reduce emissions 46% by 2030 RTX, formerly Raytheon, signs an agreement with Engie North America to buy 1.5 million MWh of renewable energy over the next ten years, spurring further growth of Texas solar development.

Sungrow posts $1.3 billion profit for 2023

Vincent Shaw — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 15:15:39 +0000

Chinese inverter manufacturer Sungrow shipped 130 GW of inverters last year, reaching a profit of $1.3 billion.

From pv magazine global

Chinese inverter and battery producer Sungrow reported annual revenue of approximately $10.18 billion for 2023, marking a significant increase of 79.47% from the preceding year. Its net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies hit $1.33 billion, up 162.69% year on year.

Sungrow credited the growth in its profit margin to factors such as the expanding brand premium, product innovation, scale effects, and reductions in freight costs and foreign exchange gains.

Sungrow’s main operations produce PV inverters, energy storage systems, and new energy investment and development. These segments represent 38.27%, 25.64%, and 34.23% of total revenue, respectively. About $5.48 billion of Sungrow’s revenue in 2023 originated from domestic operations in China, constituting 54% of the total.

Sungrow recorded substantial growth in core product shipments in 2023. PV inverter shipments reached 130 GW. The company also achieved a leading position among Chinese firms by shipping 10.5 GWh of energy storage systems throughout the world.

California solar installation designed for grazing sheep

Anne Fischer — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 15:55:52 +0000

Renewable America designed the project to disturb the land little as possible, installing fixed-tilt tracker array that required no grading.

The Fallon Two Rock Road Solar Farm is now operational, according to partners MCE and Renewable America.

MCE is a not-for-profit electricity provider for more than 585,000 customer accounts and 1.5 million California residents and businesses. The company reports that 60% to 100% of the electricity it sells comes from renewable power, and that it is currently delivering 14 GW. The Fallon installation is MCE’s sixteenth feed-in tariff project to come online in the Bay Area.

Renewable America is a renewable energy developer that specializes in small utility-scale solar storage and community microgrid projects in California. The company reports that it currently has over 320 MW of solar and 680 MWh of energy storage projects under development throughout California.

Fallon is a 1 MW agrivoltaics installation that is expected to produce an estimated 2.3 GW/h annually. Renewable America told pv magazine USA that the project uses 2,240 650W Astronergy bifacial solar modules on 25-degree, fixed tilt OMCO Solar Choice trackers, with 10 Chint Power 100 kW inverters (each power derated to 96kW). The site is expected to power 300 homes and save about 19,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions throughout its 35-year lifetime.

“Renewable America’s motto ‘Think Local. Act Local’, drives us to prioritize local projects like Fallon Two Rock that positively impact local communities. This is our first project with MCE, supporting local clean energy generation and committing to fast-tracking progress toward a clean energy future in California,” said Ardeshir Arian, president & CEO of Renewable America.

Renewable America designed the project to occupy only 3.5% of a 4.5-acre parcel, with the rest remaining in a natural state. The fixed tilt trackers follow the natural slope of the land, so no grading was needed, according to the developer. The project also accommodates sheep grazing between the rows, for natural vegetation management.

Fallon Two Rock was built with nearly 4,000 hours of prevailing wage labor, according to the developer. Prevailing wage is a requirement of the Inflation Reduction Act that developers must meet in order to qualify for a tax credit adder. In essence, the prevailing wage requirements states that the taxpayer (developer) must pay any laborer, mechanic, contractor or subcontractor at the prevailing rates for the location in which the construction takes place, as determined by the Secretary of Labor.

[Read more about prevailing wage guidance here.]

RNA Services LLC, a subsidiary of Renewable America, served as the EPC partner during construction and is continuing its role in operations and maintenance. RNA has also committed $20,000 to MCE for local workforce development.

“Clean energy is just one part of the transition to a sustainable future,” said Katie Rice, MCE board director and County of Marin supervisor. “The additional funding RNA committed will help MCE grow the clean energy economy, providing training opportunities for local residents to enter the green workforce.”

Longroad Energy installing U.S.-made First Solar modules in Arizona solar-plus-storage plant

Anne Fischer — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 17:33:02 +0000

The 220 MWdc solar and 214 MWac / 855 MWh Serrano solar-plus-storage project will also feature Powin's BESS, Sungrow inverters, and Nextracker trackers.

Longroad announced the financial close of the 220 MWdc solar and 214 MWac / 855 MWh Serrano solar-plus-storage project in Pinal and Pima Counties, Arizona. Construction is now underway, and is expected to be complete by mid-2025.

Serrano represents the continuation of a longstanding partnership between U.S.-based solar manufacturer First Solar and Longroad. Serrano is the fourth Arizona project using First Solar’s modules that Longroad has financed in four years, and Longroad’s first to use First Solar’s Series 7 panels that are made in the U.S. First Solar has a manufacturing facility in Ohio and recently expanded operations to Alabama and Louisiana.

“We are proud to support American manufacturing and the domestic solar supply chain as we expand our solar footprint in the robust Arizona market, which now surpasses 1.5 GW of operating or under construction projects,” said Paul Gaynor, CEO of Longroad Energy.”

The 214 MWac / 855 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) will be provided by U.S.-based energy storage platform provider Powin. The BESS will include SMA inverters and cells from AESC, which will be integrated into Powin’s Modular and Scalable Centipede Energy Storage Platform.

Nextracker is supplying trackers for the project and Sungrow is supplying the solar inverters.

Operations and maintenance (O&M) services for the project will be provided by NovaSource Power Services and Longroad’s affiliate Longroad Energy Services. Longterm O&M services for the BESS will be provided by Longroad, in conjunction with Powin and NovaSource Power Services.

Arizona Public Service (APS) will be the offtaker of electricity from the plant through a long-term power purchase agreement. The project will generate enough electricity to power roughly 61,000 Arizona homes.

“APS is widely regarded for providing top-quality, reliable service to our customers, and solar plus storage resources like the Serrano project bring value to Arizonans,” said Brian Cole, APS Vice President of Resource Management. “Our investment in cost-effective, renewable projects enhances our diverse energy mix, providing customers with power that is reliable, affordable and clean.”

Serrano is the fourth large-scale solar facility in Arizona being built by McCarthy for Longroad and is expected to employ over 300 people during the construction process. McCarthy is using registered apprentices and reports it will be paying prevailing wage to all workers on the project, in accordance with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Longroad estimates that the solar produced by Serrano represents over 330,000 metric tons of avoided CO2 emissions annually, or the equivalent of taking approximately 75,000 gas-powered cars off the road. Additionally the project is expected to contribute more than $25 million in revenue for Arizona schools and communities through its long-term Right of Way grant with the Arizona State Land Department and tax remittances.

Debt financing was led by CIBC and Societe Generale and included ANZ, PNC, Commerzbank AG, and U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance. CIBC acted as Coordinating Lead Arranger, Administrative Agent, Collateral Agent, and Green Loan Coordinator. Societe Generale acted as Coordinating Lead Arranger. U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance served as Joint Lead Arranger and Depositary Bank. Athene Annuity and Life Insurance Company, an affiliate of Apollo Global Management, is the project’s tax equity investor and was advised by Apterra Infrastructure Capital.

“Our continued role in supporting Longroad in the build out of their development pipeline is one example of CIBC’s commitment to the U.S. renewable energy and energy transition space as we work towards enabling a more sustainable and inclusive economy,” said Peter O’Neill, head of U.S. project finance and infrastructure at CIBC.

Longroad Energy Holdings has developed or acquired 5.4 GW of renewable energy projects across the U.S. and raised over $14.5 billion of equity, debt, and tax equity to support completion of its portfolio. Serrano expands Longroad’s solar footprint in Arizona to more than 1.5 GW of operating or under construction projects.

Texas manufacturer signs onto three-party power purchase agreement

Anne Fischer — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 18:28:48 +0000

A 2.6 MW solar project in Seguin, Texas will supply about 13% of electricity needs of Vitesco Technologies, an automotive supplier.

A solar plant constructed as a partnership between global automotive supplier Vitesco Technologies, San Antonio-based Big Sun Solar and electric cooperative GVEC, is said to be one of the first three-party power purchase agreements in Texas.

The ground-mount, tracker-based project is built on 12 acres adjacent to the Vitesco Technologies’ manufacturing facility, where the company makes drive systems and electrification solutions for sustainable mobility.

Through the power purchase agreement, Big Sun Solar is the developer, owner and operator and Vitesco Technologies purchases the electricity from GVEC.

The 2.6 MW project is expected to generate roughly 4,800 MW/h per year with 4,800 Jinko Eagle 545 W solar modules mounted on Array Technologies DuraTrack HZ v3 trackers. The site will use 16 SMA Sunny Highpower Peak3 125kW inverters.

Now operational, the solar plant is expected to produce enough electricity to cover about 13% of the company’s annual energy consumption at the Seguin facility, or the equivalent of powering 330 Texas homes.

“Powering clean mobility is our mission, and that certainly includes taking responsible actions supporting our manufacturing processes to reduce the environmental effects of the automotive industry,” said Dr. Hans-Juergen Braun, global head of operations for Vitesco Technologies.

“This solar energy project owes its success to the dedication and vision of our team in Seguin as well as our partners with Big Sun and the GVEC,” said Hans-Juergen Braun. “These initiatives and opportunities are driving our global footprint toward success and growth not only benefitting our company, but also our employees, shareholders, business partners and world as a whole.”

Vitesco Technologies and Big Sun Solar report that they are currently discussing opportunities to implement additional sustainable energy projects at the facility.

Construction begins on largest utility-owned solar project in New Hampshire

Anne Fischer — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 19:57:28 +0000

ReVision Energy is building the 4.9 MW solar project on 36 acres of vacant land in Kingston, New Hampshire.

Unitil Corporation, a public utility holding company with operations in three New England states, began site work on a 4.9 MW solar project in Kingston, N.H. When complete in 2025, it will be the largest utility-owned solar in New Hampshire. The first utility-owned solar plant is a 2.59 MW in Moultonborough, owned by New Hampshire Electric Cooperative.

The Kingston solar project will include 11,232 Qcells solar modules mounted on Terrasmart single-axis trackers with an east-west rotation. The installation will include approximately 40 Chint Power Systems’ string inverters, and the electricity generated by the solar plant will be delivered directly into Unitil’s electric distribution system.

The plant is expected to generate approximately 9.7 million kilowatt hours of energy in its first year of service and is expected to average 8.6 million kilowatt hours annually over its projected 40-year lifespan.

Unitil chose New Hampshire-based ReVision Energy based in Brentwood, N.H. as its engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the solar array.

“The new array reflects Unitil’s long-term goals of addressing the region’s climate objectives in a way that’s cost-effective, sustainable, and provides direct benefits to all customers,” said Alex O’Meara, external affairs director at Unitil. “We look forward to partnering on this project with ReVision Energy, which brings with it 20 years of award-winning experience in the solar industry here in New England.”

The Kingston project was approved by the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission in May 2023 and has since received all required local, state and federal permits. Under New Hampshire law, utilities can invest in renewable generation of up to 6% of their total distribution peak load, which provides Unitil the opportunity to develop as much as 18 MW of renewables.

“With this array, Unitil will provide substantial savings for ratepayers, generate employment opportunities within the community, and significantly curb carbon emissions,” said Dan Weeks, vice president of business development at ReVision Energy. “

While energy storage initially will not be part of the Kingston site, it has been designed for solar. A spokesperson told pv magazine USA that Unitil continues to evaluate the cost and benefits of storage to ensure the addition of storage provides net benefits to customers.

This article was amended on Feb. 27, 2024 to state that the Kingston plant is the largest utility owned, but not the first.

Sunrise brief: RE+ Northeast 2024 shines in Boston

pv magazine — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 12:21:11 +0000

Also on the rise: Large-format solar modules and legacy assumptions. Update on Puerto Rico solar market. And more.

NREL paper details nationwide heat-pump feasibility The report looks at how installation costs and energy savings prices change in relation to climate, heating source and type of home and suggests that policymakers further reduce the costs of installing heat pumps so that more U.S. households can benefit from them.

Puerto Rico distributed solar climbs to 680 MW, residential storage to 1.6 GWh While distributed solar and storage are advancing quickly in Puerto Rico, utility-scale solar and storage procurements ordered by Puerto Rico regulators in 2020 have made little progress.

RE+ Northeast 2024 shines in Boston The largest and longest running of the RE+ regional conferences, this year it’s bigger than ever, having outgrown its previous space and now filling a hall in the Boston Convention Center.

Large-format solar modules and legacy assumptions While most large-format modules are lab tested for certification, the lab is not the real world. The field loading applied to a solar module depends on the structure on which it is mounted and the terrain of the project.

People on the move: Innerdex, BlueWave, Dynamic Grid and more Job moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities and energy transition finance.

RE+ Northeast 2024 shines in Boston

Anne Fischer — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 14:43:03 +0000

The largest and longest running of the RE+ regional conferences, this year it's bigger than ever, having outgrown its previous space and now filling a hall in the Boston Convention Center.

Despite dire warnings of a foot of snow, 3,500 people arrived at the Boston Convention Center Tuesday morning for the annual RE+ Northeast.

The Northeast show is the flagship regional conference conducted by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA). It is also the largest of the RE+ regional conferences and this year it is bigger than ever, having outgrown its previous space and now filling a hall in the convention center.

State representative Jeffrey Roy delivered the welcome to a packed room for the opening session. Roy is chairperson of the joint committee on telecommunications, utilities and energy, and house chair of the manufacturing caucus. He welcomed the clean energy advocates to the Commonwealth, a state with a strong policy support for renewables.

Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of SEIA highlighted the industries associations roadmap for 2024, what she said is a pivotal year for the industry. She emphasized the importance of state policy, as exemplified in the Commonwealth, noting both risks and opportunities affecting the industry. Partisanship is one of the risks, especially in this election year, she said.

Delivering the keynote was Tarika Barrett the CEO of Girls Who Code, an organization with a mission to close the gender gap in technology. Barrett noted a growing gender gap in females entering STEM professions and the impact that has on the economy.

The exhibit hall is filled with over 200 exhibitors, and the larger convention hall provided plenty space for the influx of attendees. Traffic remained steady throughout the day, with attendees remarking that RE+ Northeast has become a must-attend show.

Yaskawa Solectria Solar debuted its XGI 1500 utility-scale and commercial string inverters, designed and engineered in Lawerence, Massachusetts and assembled and tested in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. The company said its inverters are qualified as domestic end products compliant with the Buy American Act and eligible for tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act. Yaskawa Solectria is exhibiting in booth 325.

One of the technical highlights of opening day was an overview of a new standard by EMerge Alliance. The Alliance describes the new standard as interoperability data model (IDM) framework that allows encoding of electrical compatibility information of microgrid component devices (power sources, conversion, storage, circuit protection and distribution devices) into a machine-readable format.

“This standard and its associated open-source public library satisfies the urgent need for a standardized information framework that can be utilized by design systems to assist inexpert and non-technical users evaluate electrical compatibility in the concept stage of system design and significantly reducing engineering soft-cost of a project,” said Dusan Brhlik, chair of the Microgrid Technical Standards Committee and EMerge Alliance Governing Board member.

RE+ Northeast continues today with more cutting-edge workshops, roundtables, and exhibits. pv magazine USA can be found in booth 850.

Sunrise brief: Enphase Q4 revenues drop 35% in U.S. and 70% in Europe

pv magazine — Wed, 07 Feb 2024 13:25:49 +0000

Also on the rise: Recurrent Energy secures $160 million for Louisiana solar project. Solar corporate funding rises 42% globally in 2023. And more.

Solar corporate funding rises 42% globally in 2023 Over $34.3 billion was raised over 160 deals, said a report from Mercom Capital.

Off-grid solar EV charging system designed for quick installation PairTree features bifacial solar panels available in 4.6 kW and 5 kW units combined with a 42.4 kWh capacity storage system and one or two AC level 2 EV chargers.

Alaskan tribal communities form independent power producers for renewables projects Alaskan tribal communities are improving the payback on renewables projects by forming independent power producers, thus gaining access to a state subsidy.

Recurrent Energy secures $160 million for Louisiana solar project Microsoft will be the sole offtaker of energy produced by the 98 MW Bayou Galion Solar project, supporting its goal to be carbon negative by 2030.

Summit Ridge plans 26 community solar installations in Illinois Each of the installations within the 82 MW portfolio will average 3MW and most will include pollinator habitat.

Enphase Q4 revenues drop 35% in U.S. and 70% in Europe Reduced demand and reduced shipments due to high unsold inventory at distributors cratered the company’s revenues in its Q4 2023 report.

Sunrise brief: Bipartisan Senators request increased tariffs on solar imports from China

pv magazine — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 13:03:48 +0000

Also on the rise: Updated Enphase IQ8 microinverters are shipping in North America. Sharp unveils 580 W TOPCon solar panel with 22.45% efficiency. And more.

People on the move: Edge Zero, Dynamic Energy, Ecobat and more Job moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities and energy transition finance.

Chaberton Energy sees community solar installations skyrocket The community solar specialist reached 100 solar energy installations under contract in less than four years, and it plans to double its growth in the next two years.

Bipartisan Senators request increased tariffs on solar imports from China In attempt to support U.S. manufacturing competition with lower-cost imported solar components, the Senators requested the president invoke Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to enforce tariffs.

Updated Enphase IQ8 microinverters are shipping in North America Enphase reports that both the IQ8HC and IQ8X are designed to pair with a full range of solar modules up to 540 W.

Sharp unveils 580 W TOPCon solar panel with 22.45% efficiency Sharp’s new IEC61215- and IEC61730-certified solar panels have an operating temperature coefficient of -0.30% per C and a bifaciality factor of over 80%.

FEMA to help communities build back with grants for solar panels and heat pumps The funds are allocated to help communities boost climate disaster resilience with net-zero technologies.

Updated Enphase IQ8 microinverters are shipping in North America

Anne Fischer — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 19:52:23 +0000

Enphase reports that both the IQ8HC and IQ8X are designed to pair with a full range of solar modules up to 540 W.

Enphase Energy, Inc. has started shipping its new IQ8 Microinverters, IQ8HC and IQ8X in North America. With peak output AC power of 384 W, the new microinverters are designed to pair with a full range of solar modules up to 540 W.

IQ8HC Microinverters can manage a continuous DC current of 14 amperes, supporting higher powered solar modules through increased energy harvesting. The IQ8X Microinverters are available in the U.S. and support solar modules with higher output DC voltage and cell counts, such as 96-cells, 80 half-cut cells and 88 half-cut cells.

The new IQ8 Microinverters build on the previous models’ ability to keep the power running during a grid blackout. The device is designed to react to real-time usage in the home and adjust accordingly. The system will feed as much electricity as it has access to based upon sunlight available and solar power capacity, and it, reportedly, will adjust on the fly. When the house is using more energy than provided by the solar setup, the Enphase system is designed to shut down and to instantly restart when the excess load is removed.

The company offers a 25-year warranty for all IQ8 Microinverters activated in the United States and Canada, and a 12-year warranty for products activated in Mexico.

“Enphase is staying ahead of the industry by developing products that can handle the ever-increasing power density of new solar modules,” said Tom Chentnik, owner of Independent Green Technologies of Texas, an installer of Enphase products.

Enphase Energy Systems in North America reports that the IQ8 Microinverters can also be paired with IQ Batteries for an all-in-one solution. The IQ Combiners consolidate interconnection equipment into a single enclosure and provide a pre-wired solution that includes an IQ Gateway, cell modem, current transformers (CTs), and more.

Enphase has shipped approximately 72 million microinverters, and more than 3.8 million Enphase-based systems have been deployed in over 145 countries. However, in October pv magazine USA reported that Enphase had had a difficult year, with its performance struggling in-line with other residential solar market leaders, which have seen high interest rates, regulatory changes like California’s NEM 3.0, and stabilizing energy prices make a significant dent in rooftop solar installations.

Enphase attributed its pullback in sell-through in California to NEM 3.0. However, at the time, management said it is confident that solar-plus-battery systems will have a payback period under NEM 3.0 that approaches NEM 2.0 levels, and that sales should normalized in “a few more quarters.”

U.S.-made optimizers to maximize manufacturing tax credits

John Fitzgerald Weaver — Tue, 23 Jan 2024 16:41:35 +0000

Solar optimizer manufacturer, Enteligent, is transitioning its production facilities to the United States in a strategic move aimed at enabling inverter manufacturers to fully capitalize on the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) $0.11/W transferable tax credit.

Enteligent, maker of solar power optimizers and solar electric vehicle charging solutions, is relocating its manufacturing operations to the United States. The move is primarily driven by the desire to maximize the benefits offered by the Inflation Reduction Act’s 45x Advanced Manufacturing tax credit, thereby enhancing the offerings for their inverter partners.

Sean Burke, the CEO of Enteligent, discussed with pv magazine USA the details of this transition, emphasizing its role in optimizing the available tax incentives under the IRA.

Burke underscored the financial incentives tied to the move, explaining, “when U.S.-based inverter manufacturers sell their hardware fully integrated as a full system solution, then those companies can claim the IRA 45x $0.11/W transferable tax credit.” Without the inclusion of the optimizer, residential solar inverters secure a credit of $0.065/W, and commercial units a lesser $0.02/W.

This strategic shift aligns with industry trends, notably First Solar’s recent sale of $700 million in tax credits to fund the development of its solar panel manufacturing operations in the U.S.

Highlighting its specialized niche in the market, Burke noted, “We are the only supplier of power-line communication module-level power optimizers that can be integrated with a DC-coupled PV inverter system.”

Burke candidly shared the operational hurdles this transition entails. The shift demands a comprehensive capital investment, covering not just the physical factory and manufacturing lines but also the human resources required for operation. This also marks a shift from their prior business model, which had primarily focused on design, sales, and marketing, and outsourced manufacturing.

Enteligent is actively collaborating with prominent industry partners like Sol-Ark and Solis. Their 0900-80V optimizers are already integrated into Sol-Ark’s residential and commercial units, and both Sol-Ark and Solis incorporate Enteligent’s transmitters.

The units, boasting Sunspec certification, adhere to industry standards ensuring interoperability and secure communication. They offer rapid shutdown capabilities, along with module output optimization to mitigate issues like shading, and provide detailed module-level data. This granular data is relayed to inverter manufacturers, allowing seamless integration into their user-facing inverter information interfaces.

Enteligent also streamlines the installation process with an app designed for quicker commissioning of systems.

Currently, the hardware production is situated in the Philippines, following a relocation from China. Enteligent anticipates having U.S.-manufactured units ready for their partners by the second quarter of 2024. The core technical components, such as microprocessors, are already sourced from U.S.-based Texas Instruments, while other components like capacitors, cables, connectors and miscellaneous items are produced globally.

Burke did not provide specific insights on the potential impact of these domestically produced units on the 10% domestic content tax credit, a significant consideration for stakeholders in the solar power sector.

SolarEdge announces reduction of global workforce

Patrick Jowett — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 14:20:10 +0000

SolarEdge, an Israel-based inverter manufacturer, says it plans to cut about 900 jobs as part of a restructuring plan “designed to reduce operating expenses and align its cost structure to current market dynamics.”

From pv magazine global

SolarEdge announced a global workforce-reduction plan that will affect approximately 900 employees, or about 16% of its total workforce.

The company said the reduction is part of a restructuring plan “designed to reduce operating expenses and align its cost structure to current market dynamics.” It said it will provide more details in an upcoming end-of-year earnings release.

“We are making every effort to treat our departing colleagues with respect and gratitude for their contributions and support them in their transition. We remain confident in the long-term growth of the solar energy market and our leading position in the smart energy space,” Chief Executive Zvi Lando said. “These changes do not impact our strategic direction and priorities and we remain committed to continue to drive the renewable energy transformation, while providing best in class technology and support to our customers.”

The company said the job losses are the latest in a series of measures it has taken to align with current market conditions. It has shut down manufacturing in Mexico, reduced manufacturing capacity in China, and terminated its light commercial vehicle e-mobility activity.

Earlier this month, U.S. investment firm BlackRock, which is SolarEdge’s biggest shareholder, increased its stake in the company to 15.8%.

After a poor Q3, 2023 earnings report in early November, SolarEdge saw its stock drop precipitously. The company had reported a Q3 adjusted loss of 55 cents per share, which missed earnings estimates of 68 cents, and in the hours following the report, its stock price immediately fell 10% to 20%.

In December pv magazine USA reported that the S&P Dow Jones Indices will move SolarEdge (NASD: SEDG) from the S&P 500 to the S&P SmallCap 600 prior to the open of trading on December 18. For Q3 2023, the company posted revenues of $725 million, $676 million of which is from its solar segment.

The company’s share price dropped by 67% in 2023 and falling by almost 80% from its peak in 2021. However, looking ahead to Q4, SolarEdge provided guidance of $325 million in revenues.

Who’s on top of the residential solar-plus-storage market?

Anne Fischer — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 16:07:20 +0000

Wood Mackenzie’s new leaderboard ranks battery manufacturers and solar-plus-storage installers. Recent findings show that three companies have held 80% of the market since 2018, but that tide is turning as new providers enter the growing market.

Homeowners are pairing battery backup with solar for many reasons including ensured resilience and as a response to increasing cuts to net metering programs. Wood Mackenzie recently launched its US Distributed Solar-plus-storage Leaderboard to track this market, and found that in Q3 2023, 11% of residential solar and 5% of non-residential solar installations are paired with storage.

While there have been many new entrants to this market in the past year, the Wood Mac report found that just three vendors have held an average of 80% of the market from 2018 through Q3 2023: Tesla, LG and Enphase. But the tide is turning as others move into top spots, and new entrants with well-known names offer complete solutions.

“These companies continue to dominate the market; however, they have recently come under pressure from new entrants,” said Max Issokson, a research analyst at Wood Mackenzie and author of the new report. “Whereas Tesla and LG products were installed on 96% of residential solar-plus-storage projects in 2018, they made up 65% of installations in 2023 through Q3.”

Tesla claims the top spot in Wood Mackenzie’s residential solar-plus-storage rankings with a market share of 30.2% in 2023 through Q3, followed by Sunrun at 20.5% and SunPower at 4.6%.

The market has opened up to many new entrants in part due to the increase in residential solar installations spurred by passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which boosted the Investment Tax Credit to 30% through 2032. Well-known energy equipment companies including SunPower, Generac and SolarEdge are relatively new entrants who quickly moved into top spots on the Leaderboard.

SunPower made a few good moves that propelled it toward the top of the chart for residential storage. For example, the company signed a collaboration agreement with General Motors to deploy home energy storage systems for residential electric vehicle charging and was named GM’s preferred EV charger installer and solar provider. The company also signed an agreement with a large home builder, Dream Finders Homes, to deploy its solar-plus-storage system on its new homes.

Generac, a leader in traditional generators, entered the solar, EV charger and residential solar-plus-storage markets in recent years. Its PWRcell is the residential storage product, and coupled with the Concerto platform that is part of Generac Grid Services, it provides a distributed energy resource management system (DERMS) that can detect spikes in demand, which signal the batteries to automatically dispatch clean energy based on real-time grid conditions. Generac signed on with Southern California Edison (SCE) as a virtual power plant participant, using this solution to scale the utility’s Power Flex program.

Enphase Energy, long known for its microinverters, is also in the residential storage business. The company is eyeing the California residential solar market for its new Enphase Energy System with the IQ Battery 5P. The California NEM 3.0 went into effect in April is slashing payments by 75% for excess solar production sent to the grid. Enphase reports that its system is optimized to support the new NEM 3.0 rules by enabling self-consumption and exporting energy at the appropriate times to create maximum value.

“California continues to be one of our top markets and the new IQ Battery 5P will enable our customers to maximize the value of their home solar systems with the new net metering rules,” said Bryson Solomon, chief executive officer of Infinity Energy, a Rocklin, Calif.-based installer of residential and commercial solar and storage.

According to the Wood Mac report, the solar-plus-storage market is much more consolidated than the residential installation market. The top five players in the residential solar-plus-storage market hold 59% of the market, whereas the top five in residential solar hold just 24%, noted Issokson.

Even with the top five players holding more than half the market, other companies have entered the market with residential offerings. A few of these include FranklinWH, SMA and Schneider Electric.

The integrated battery and control system in the Franklin Whole Home (WH) system, which debuted in 2022, has a built-in adaptive learning algorithms is inverter-agnostic, comes EV charger ready, and is designed to turn a home into a micro-grid when the grid is down, the company reports. According to the Wood Mac report, FranklinWH, less than two years after launching its first storage project, ranks eighth among manufacturers nationally.

Inverter specialist SMA recently announced a new residential energy storage solution that includes the Sunny Boy Smart Energy hybrid inverter. The company reports that the energy storage solution can be equipped with SMA’s Backup Secure to control the home’s energy, sending it to chosen appliances when needed.

Schneider Home platform is an energy management system (EMS) that integrates energy endpoints and household appliances in one interface, and it can be monitored with a single smartphone application. Released a year ago at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the company says that Schneider’s residential system allows users to not only monitor the energy consumption of household appliances, but it allows users to prioritize power during outages.

Sunrise brief: Enphase to lay off 10% of workforce

pv magazine — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 13:55:33 +0000

Also on the rise: Longi announces 27.09% efficiency for heterojunction back contact solar cell. Two New York landfill solar projects become operational. And more.

Enphase to lay off 10% of workforce The company is also shutting down contract manufacturing in the U.S. and Romania.

Indiana solar project moves forward with tax equity deal Lightsource bp closes $85 million tax equity deal for 188 MW Honeysuckle Solar project, scheduled to come online in early 2024.

Longi announces 27.09% efficiency for heterojunction back contact solar cell Longi has announced the achievement of 27.09% efficiency for its heterojunction back contact (HBC) solar cell, a result that has been confirmed by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research (ISFH).

People on the move: Tigo, NextEra, Origami Solar and more Job moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities and energy transition finance.

Researchers discover new factor in perovskite solar cell stability Georgia Tech researchers discovered that isolated water or oxygen exposure does not degrade cells, and it is rather the interplay of the molecules that cause rapid degradation.

Two New York landfill solar projects become operational Catalyze announced that two solar projects in Lancaster, New York commenced operation, one of which serves Finger Lakes Health through a community solar agreement.

Enphase launches three-phase inverter

John Fitzgerald Weaver — Wed, 13 Dec 2023 17:48:14 +0000

The residential microinverter manufacturer released a 208V three phase inverter for the small commercial market. The advancing hardware comes with a specialized support team, expedited one-day financing options, and tailored design tools - optimized for efficiently handling systems up to 200kW.

Microinverter manufacturer Enphase has officially launched its dedicated 208V three-phase offering. The company says a focused support team, evolving hardware, financial solutions, and design tools are being made available for small business solar projects. The manufacturer says system sized blocks of 200 kW will most efficiently maximize their hardware on a cost-per-watt basis.

Previously, 240V single-phase residential Enphase inverters could be configured into 208V three-phase commercial systems. However, this required meticulous system design and additional “Q Cables”. The new 208V system offers more flexibility in string design and simplifies installation with a new four-wire 208V Q Cable.

Eric Bergman, Commercial and Industrial Sales Director at Enphase, touted the advantages of the new system to pv magazine USA. Bergman explained that installers used to have to “physically land the output of the micros evenly across the three phases of the site.”

Installations also used to require a network protection relay, necessitating an external enclosure. The new IQ8 C&I microinverter comes with the 4-wire QD Cable, which integrates phase balancing, V/F ride-through, and loss of phase detection – functions previously managed externally by the Network Protection Relay.

Enphase anticipates that all hardware and associated equipment will be classified as domestic content, potentially qualifying for the 10% Inflation Reduction Act tax credit adder. However, the definitive guidance from the Internal Revenue Service is still pending.

U.S. production of the commercial inverter is set to begin in the first quarter of 2024. Enphase is initially focusing on the core functionalities of the 208V equipment, with plans to introduce additional features like grid-tied load support, energy storage integration, and 480V three-phase support in the future.

Bergman highlighted another benefit: a large, skilled workforce is already trained to sell and install these systems:

Right now, the nation is seeing a bit of a slowdown in residential solar sales. At the same time, commercial solar contractors are having a challenging time finding installation crews. The 208V gear gives both groups multiple opportunities. Residential installers who’ve been installing Enphase their whole careers can be tapped by commercial groups to help them deploy these systems, or sell to small businesses on their own.

Enphase has also developed new software tools. The first, Fleet View, allows commercial installers to monitor and manage all Enphase installations at a module level. There is also a kiosk feature, which provides a public-facing website for remote monitoring of solar power systems. Additionally, Enphase’s SolarGraf, solar design software acquired in 2021, has been optimized for their products.

Another innovative software feature from Enphase is a new financing option. This option becomes available once a design is completed in SolarGraf. Users can then apply for a lease directly through Bank of Montreal, integrated with the SolarGraf platform. The bank offers two seven-year lease products: one that enables the bank to claim the tax credits, while the other option leaves the tax credits with the business owner. For projects valued at less than $150,000 the application process is swift, with responses typically provided within 24 hours. For larger projects, the approval process may take up to two or three days.

Bergman views the bank’s involvement as a testament to Enphase’s reputation. He believes the bank sees Enphase as an “investment grade inverter, if you will.”

Enphase has already deployed fifteen 208V sites in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada during their beta program. Bergman, an expert with extensive experience in commercial inverters, reported impressive efficiency in the installations, said “If we look at our entire beta testing installation portfolio for our C&I products, each site took on average approximately 30 minutes to commission and 100% of the sites required only one truck roll to complete.”

This article was amended to state that previously, 240V (not 120V) single-phase residential Enphase inverters could be configured into 208V three-phase commercial systems.

SMA to build 3.5 GW inverter factory in U.S.

Sandra Enkhardt — Wed, 13 Dec 2023 14:15:46 +0000

SMA Solar Technology AG says it will open a new 3.5 GW inverter factory at an unspecified location in the United States in 2025. The German manufacturer is currently talking with several U.S. states and potential partners to select the best production site.

From pv magazine Germany

German inverter maker SMA Solar Technology AG plans to build an inverter factory at an unspecified location in the United States.

The company said the new manufacturing facility will use production equipment that was originally intended for its production site in Thalheim, Germany.

The factory will likely be operational in 2025 and will have an annual capacity of 3.5 GW.

Discussions are currently underway “with several federal states and potential partners to find the most strategically advantageous production location and the right approach,” the company said, noting that up to 200 new jobs will be created in the first three years.

“The U.S. is a key market for SMA, and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) offers an extraordinary opportunity for long-term growth,” said CEO Jürgen Reinert. “With this step, we will significantly strengthen our market share in the USA and set the course for SMA’s future growth.”

SMA is also pushing ahead with capacity expansion in Germany, where it plans to reach 40 GW. It said it wants to produce solutions for large PV projects and storage systems from 2025 at its Niestetal site, for use in global markets.

Largest solar installation in Mississippi begins operations

Anne Fischer — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 17:03:12 +0000

The 135 MWdc Delta’s Edge solar farm will provide clean energy to over 14,000 homes in the state.

In a state that currently has only 438 MW of solar installed, the 135 MWdc Delta’s Edge solar farm represents a 30% increase in the amount of installed solar in Mississippi.

Cubico Sustainable Investments, a privately-owned renewable energy company, announced that Delta Edge solar project situated in Carroll County, Mississippi, USA, began commercial operations. The Delta Edge plant is expected to provide clean energy to over 14,000 homes and businesses across the state.

Cubico acquired Delta’s Edge from Renewable Energy Systems in 2020. The company reports that, with this installation the company now has over 750 MW of operational renewable energy projects in the U.S. and over 1.4 GW across North America (U.S. and Mexico).

Delta’s Edge is made up of 250,000 Adani 540 W bifacial solar modules on Array Technologies trackers, with 31 Power Electronics inverters. The installation is Cubico’s first operational project to be connected to the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), the second largest regional transmission network in the U.S. Cubico reports that it also has a pipeline of 270 MW of clean energy projects under construction and approximately 1 GW of projects in development across the country.

The wholesale electric utility, Cooperative Energy, signed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for power from Delta’s Edge, and closed tax equity financing in August 2023, supported by Raymond James and Monarch Private Capital.

“With a long-term power purchase agreement in place with well-established local utility Cooperative Energy, this project exemplifies our commitment to advancing the renewable energy transition across the country and making a positive impact on local communities,” said Stacey Kusters, country head, USA.

Cubico Sustainable Investments was founded in 2015 and is backed by the resources of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Canada’s largest single-profession pension plan, and PSP Investments, one of Canada’s largest pension investment managersCubico is headquartered in London and has offices in Athens (Greece), Milan (Italy), Austin and New York, Mexico City (Mexico), Madrid (Spain), Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane (Australia), Montevideo (Uruguay) and Bogotá (Colombia).

For more on solar in Mississippi see 50 states of solar incentives: Mississippi.

Sunrise brief: California “added insult to injury” latest anti-solar ruling

pv magazine — Tue, 05 Dec 2023 13:30:39 +0000

Also on the rise: Tesla Cybertruck can power your home and more. SolarEdge expected to drop from S&P 500. And more.

Tesla Cybertruck can power your home and more The company’s recently launched truck offers 11.5 kW of power output to homes, and 9.6 kW of output via five plugs.

DEPCOM Power begins construction of Puerto Rico’s largest hybrid solar project The company is developing a 90 MW solar / 51.5 MW energy storage project with an agrivoltaic pilot program.

California “added insult to injury” latest anti-solar ruling CPUC has now disallowed using battery-tied solar exports to offset delivery charges. This comes after it moved to slash the value of standalone solar exports as a way to encourage pairing systems with battery storage.

SolarEdge expected to drop from S&P 500 Poor Q3 results are the result of a slow market environment that are, in part, the result of high interest rates and reduction in net energy metering credit values.

California’s lithium reserves could power 375 million EV batteries, say researchers The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory prepared a report, funded by the US Department of Energy, to thoroughly quantify the amount of lithium in an underground reserve in the Salton Sea, California.

What drives solar adoption not equal across income levels Lawrence Berkeley researchers studied how solar buying decisions are influenced across varying income levels and offer rationale for policy changes and incentives to spur adoption among low- to middle-income households.

SolarEdge expected to drop from S&P 500

Anne Fischer — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 17:39:57 +0000

Poor Q3 results are the result of a slow market environment that are, in part, the result of high interest rates and reduction in net energy metering credit values.

While its stock price has risen in recent weeks, the S&P Dow Jones Indices will move SolarEdge (NASD: SEDG) from the S&P 500 to the S&P SmallCap 600 prior to the open of trading on December 18. pv magazine USA reached out to SolarEdge for comment, but has not received a response as of press time.

SolarEdge, based in Israel, is a provider of string inverters, power optimizers, and energy storage. For Q3 2023, the company posted revenues of $725 million, $676 million of which is from its solar segment. However, looking ahead to Q4, SolarEdge provided guidance of $325 million in revenues.

“The results for the third quarter fell short of our prior expectations and are reflecting a slow market environment, which has resulted in high inventory of our products in the distribution channels, in particular in Europe,” said Zvi Lando, chief executive officer, SolarEdge.

The slow market environment is the result of recent macroeconomic and regulatory forces that are squeezing the residential solar industry. High interest rates and the reduction of net energy metering credit values are causing sharp declines in demand for SolarEdge and its peers.

Its major competitor, Enphase, posted significantly depressed revenue estimates for Q4. And the entry of Tesla into the string inverter market may be causing further downward pressure on the company. SolarEdge shares are up about 2% today at time of publish.

S-5! kept environment in mind with new solar-powered corporate headquarters

Anne Fischer — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 16:27:29 +0000

With native timber and moss covered rocks on the outside, the building has energy efficiency features on the inside and is topped with a 53 kW solar array mounted on its metal roof.

S-5!, a specialist in roofing attachments for the solar industry, completed a 53 kW solar installation on its new corporate headquarters in Colorado.

The rooftop installation will provide 84 MWh annually and cover up to 75% of the facility’s power, the company reports.

S-5! hired Spear Commercial & Industrial from Texas to handle the solar installation, which includes 135 Trina Vertex S 395 W solar modules with Enphase IQ8 microinverters. The modules are mounted directly on the metal roof using the company’s own PVKIT for attachment. PVKIT enables solar modules to be mounted on metal roofs without the need for a rail system.

Mark Gies, director of product management told pv magazine USA that the company does plan to add battery backup in the future. “The weather in Colorado Springs is volatile especially in the winter,” said Gies. “We want to utilize the benefits of a battery backup as well as leveraging any future economics of ‘time of use’ shifting.”

The two-story office building, designed by PWN Architects and Planners of Denver, Colorado, was built with the environment in mind and makes use of native timber and natural moss rock, along with Corten steel, which provides a rustic appearance to the building exterior. The roof, installed by Weathercraft from Colorado Springs is a standing seam, Galvalume Drexel Metals 24-gauge supported by hand-peeled log trusses.

While the finished project is “now an office that I could only dream of,” said Rob Haddock, CEO and founder of S-5!, the road to completion was rocky at times. After ten years of searching, Haddock said he found land that had been burned in the Black Forest Fire of 2013. An architect began the plans, but they ran into challenges from formal rezoning, to fire protection, to escalating costs during COVID, to workforce challenges, and more. Despite the challenges, the corporate headquarters is finished and running on solar.

Sunrise brief: Maintaining quality, reliability and durability in the solar supply chain

pv magazine — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 13:06:08 +0000

Also on the rise: SolarEdge tumbles on significantly reduced Q4 outlook.

The quiet shift from central to string inverters in utility-scale solar  Central inverters still dominate the U.S. utility solar market but string inverters are beginning to get more traction in 10+ MW projects.

U.S., China dominate solar investment China and the United States consistently attract the most annual solar investments. Together, they have received about 50% of all solar investments since 2015, according to a new report by the International Solar Alliance.

SolarEdge tumbles on significantly reduced Q4 outlook The solar inverter provider expects Q4 revenues to be less than half of the $725 million reported in Q3.

H2B2’s California facility to produce up to three tons of green hydrogen per day The SoHyCal project is located in Fresno and is currently fully operational in its first phase.

Maintaining quality, reliability and durability in the solar supply chain At the pv magazine Roundtables US 2023, four experts weighed in on the importance of testing, inspection, standardized data and more, in the never-ending quest to build a reliable and resilient solar industry.

California greenhouse to integrate clear-glass photovoltaics ClearVue clear solar glass will be installed on System USA’s greenhouse, adding 82 kW of power.

Longroad Energy starts construction on 377 MW Arizona solar project Sun Streams 4 is the company’s largest project to date. The facility is expected to ease grid congestion during peak hours and stimulate over $100 million into Arizona’s economy.

Longroad Energy starts construction on 377 MW Arizona solar project

Jerusha Kamoji — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 21:24:41 +0000

Sun Streams 4 is the company's largest project to date. The facility is expected to ease grid congestion during peak hours and stimulate over $100 million into Arizona's economy.

Longroad Energy, a Massachusetts-based renewable energy systems developer, announced the financial close and start of construction of Sun Streams 4.

The project, located in Maricopa County, Arizona, includes 377 MWdc solar panels and a 300 MW alternating current battery energy storage system (BESS) with a duration of 1200 MWh. It is expected to begin operating in mid-2025.

Other projects developed by Longroad include Sun Streams 2, a 200 MWdc solar project that started operating in the middle of 2021. Suns Streams 3 is a 285 MWdc solar panel and 215 MWac storage facility that is expected to begin running next year. Suns Streams 3 storage duration is 860 MW/h. All of Longroad’s facilities are based in Arizona.

Sun Streams 4 will use bifacial solar silicon panels supplied by Ohio-based First Solar. The panels used for this project will produce up to 480 W and have a 0.3% annual degradation rate, the company reports. Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC) will provide inverters along with lithium-ion cells for Sun Streams 4 BESS.

The BESS will be integrated with Powin’s Modular and Scalable Centipede Energy Storage Platform, and Powin will manage long-term operations and maintenance (O&M) services for Longroad’s latest facility in conjunction with NovaSource Power Services. The latter also offers O&M services for solar panel installations.

Longroad will leverage Nextracker’s solar tracker technology to ensure Sun Streams 4’s panels maximize solar production by following the sun all day. Sungrow solar inverters were selected for the project.

Longroad states that Sun Streams 4 will generate over 200 jobs during the building phase. McCarthy Building Companies Inc., a commercial construction business, will manage the engineering, procurement and development part of the project, as its renewable energy team is based in Arizona. This decision also represents the continuation of McCarthy’s partnership with Longroad as the contractor developed Sun Streams 2 and is currently building Suns Streams 3.

Construction workers and engineers are expected to receive prevailing wages per Arizona’s labor laws. Prevailing wages are yet to be determined, as the Department of Labor is currently surveying heavy highway construction industries to set wage rates. Longroad is including Registered Apprenticeship provisions that allow workers to get paid experience in conjunction with classroom training. Both are requirements for companies leveraging the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) Tax Credit program for applicable green energy projects.

Longroad states that Sun Streams 4 will add over $100 million to Arizona’s economy through long-term leases with the Arizona State Land Department and tax remittances. The funds will go toward improving state schools and the quality of life for Arizona communities.

Longroad has entered a power purchase agreement with Arizona Public Service (APS), the state’s largest electric utility provider. The joint venture is meant to help increase grid reliability in the state, especially during the peak summer demand months, as Suns Streams 4’s total output is enough to power 120,000 homes.

Longroad acquired debt financing led by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). CIBC directed a group of investors, including financial services company The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, U.S. Bank tax credit investments and syndications subsidiary U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance and German universal bank Commerzbank AG through the loan process.

“Sun Streams 4 has the distinction of being Longroad’s largest project to date by both megawatts and investment capital,” said Paul Gaynor, chief executive officer of Longroad Energy.

The organization has 4.9 GW of domestic renewable energy projects. Longroad has obtained over $12.8 billion worth of equity, debt and tax equity to fund its renewables portfolio.

The quiet shift from central to string inverters in utility-scale solar

Anne Fischer — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 13:02:26 +0000

Central inverters still dominate the U.S. utility solar market but string inverters are beginning to get more traction in 10+ MW projects.

If you look back just twenty years in the U.S. solar industry, 1 MW was the total amount of solar being installed on an annual basis. Now, in 2023, the U.S. market may exceed 30 GW in one year! As megawatts have grown to gigawatts the inverter market has diversified and matured, but bigger inverters aren’t necessarily the growing trend. Central inverters still dominate the U.S. utility solar market but string inverters are beginning to get more traction in 10+ MW projects.

“…When a central inverter goes down for anything more than minor maintenance, it takes down several MWs of generation potential with it. The prolonged downtime for repair or replacement can be detrimental to project performance,” said Jason Ellsworth, CEO, Clēnera

Earlier this summer, Clēnera, a Boise, Idaho-based solar developer and asset manager began commercial operation of Apex Solar, a 105 MWdc solar project in Beaverhead County in southwestern Montana. The project is contracted to NorthWestern Energy under a 20-year power purchase agreement and is expected to generate carbon-free power equivalent to the annual consumption of 13,500 households. Unlike most of Clēnera’s previous projects that use central inverters, the Apex Solar plant is utilizing 275 kWac string inverters made by CPS America. 

Advantages of string inverters include their relatively small size and weight, the ability of the project owner to store spare replacement inverters on-site, and the lower production losses when an inverter goes down.

According to Jason Ellsworth, Clēnera co-founder and CEO,

As a company, we are aggressively seeking innovations that improve reliability. At Apex, string inverters are just one of the steps we’ve taken to ensure maximum reliability and performance. As a long-term owner and operator, we care deeply about the lifetime performance of each project.  We will continue to find ways to improve reliability, enhance performance, and extend the lifetime on all our projects.

In the dynamic landscape of the utility-scale solar market, which is anticipated to reach 23 GW of deployment in 2023, agility is paramount. In a recent interview with the CPS America’s leadership team at RE+ in Las Vegas where 40,000 energy professionals gathered, Bryan Wagner emphasized CPS’s “Lightspeed system” that bridges communication across its diverse departments, from R&D to sales to service. This nimbleness, he argues, translates to annual product evolutions, moving CPS’s inverter market share from a modest 2-3% five years ago to their current market share of 8%.

In 2016 GTM predicted that string inverters would achieve 20% market penetration in U.S. utility solar by 2022. Globally, the penetration of string inverters into utility solar is already 50% according to some sources.

According to CPS Global, string inverters are adopted at 80-90% of all their projects in some European & Asian countries.

“The Apex Solar Farm project is a testament to CPS‘s commitment to integrate the benefits of string into utility scale projects like Apex Solar and we couldn’t be more excited that Clēnera put their trust in CPS America on this project,” said Bryan Wagner of CPS America.

Tim Montague leads the Clean Power Consulting Group and is host of the Clean Power Hour podcast. He is a solar project developer, cleantech executive coach and consultant, mastermind group leader, entrepreneur and technology enthusiast.

Sunrise brief: Tesla string inverter may challenge Enphase and SolarEdge

pv magazine — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 12:27:06 +0000

Also on the rise: U.S. solar generation has grown 12x in a decade. Tax credit boost for solar projects serving low-income and tribal communities. And more.

Tax credit boost announced for solar projects serving low-income and tribal communities Applications are now open for the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program supported by the Inflation Reduction Act. The program’s goal is to expand access to low-cost and clean energy for underserved communities.

The Hydrogen Stream: Industry groups set 2026 target for EU-U.S. hydrogen trade The Department of Energy has allocated $7 billion for seven Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs) to deploy commercial-scale clean hydrogen, while the Mission Possible Partnership, RMI, Systemiq, Power2X, and industry leaders have set up the Transatlantic Clean Hydrogen Trade Coalition (H2TC) to ship US clean hydrogen to Europe by 2026.

Overhaul regional grid operators to speed renewables, says energy lawyer Harvard law lecturer Ari Peskoe says the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should require regional grid operators to add “under-represented voices” such as state regulators to their boards, to help speed adoption of new technologies.

U.S. solar generation has grown 12x in a decade A report from Environment America shows how solar and other decarbonized technologies are quickly replacing fossil fuels.

Tesla steps in as challenger to rooftop solar inverter duopoly Enphase and SolarEdge dominate the U.S. sales of rooftop solar inverters, but Tesla may change that.

Construction starts on 27 MW behind-the-meter solar for California water treatment plant The City of Fresno and ForeFront Power began construction on the three projects, which will also include 2.3 MW of energy storage.

Sunrise brief: Grid-forming inverters will enable a high-renewables grid

pv magazine — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 12:27:06 +0000

Also on the rise: Sonnen NEM-proofs solar batteries. How local governments are driving solar energy growth. And more.

Grid-forming inverters will enable a high-renewables grid As renewable generation increases, so does the need for grid-forming inverters to provide the same functionality that rotating synchronous generators provide. The UNIFI Consortium is coordinating industry progress on the new inverter technology.

Partially developed 12 MWac brownfield solar site up for auction in New York The 111.5 acre former iron ore mine has undergone zoning and interconnection work by New York’s NYSERDA team to minimize risks associated with developing projects on sites that the state deems ideal for hosting solar power projects.

Sonnen unveils “NEM-proof” function for solar batteries The company released an optimized time-of-use solution to unlock value under California’s net energy metering 3.0 electric rate environment.

How local governments are driving solar energy growth The solar industry has much to gain by developing constructive partnerships with local governments to help communities achieve sustainability, resilience, and equity goals.

Hoymiles introduces hybrid inverters for residential solar and storage

Ryan Kennedy — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 21:10:52 +0000

The inverters support 120 V/ 240 V backup power without an external transformer.

Hoymiles introduced the HYS-LV-USG1 series of single-phase hybrid inverters, designed for residential and small commercial solar-plus-storage projects.

The inverters come in sizes ranging from 3.8 kW to 11.5 kW output power. Hybrid inverters enable two-way conversion of electricity from alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC), as well as DC to AC.

The hybrid inverters sport a max efficiency of 97.6% and a CEC efficiency of 97%. Double maximum power point (MPPT) trackers support up to 32 A of MPPT current. The inverters support 120 V / 240 V backup power without requiring the installation of an external autotransformer.

Hoymiles’ new inverters enable a DC/AC ratio of up to 150%. The company said this leads to a lower system cost when compared with systems of the same capacity using other conventional inverters.

The inverters come with integrated arc fault protection and rapid shutdown features. The inverters also allow users to check real-time system data and perform remote operations and maintenance via a transfer stick.

An onboard energy management system allows users to shift between self-consumption mode, “economic mode,” and backup power mode to suit their needs.

“By acting as a medium between solar and grid energy, we ensure electricity is not just accessible but also adaptable and reliable,” said Neutron Wang, product director, Hoymiles. “With our latest inverters, we are pushing the frontiers of solar technology, fostering energy autonomy.”

Founded in 2012, Hoymiles is a global module-level power electronics (MLPE) solution provider specializing in module-level microinverters, storage systems and rapid shutdown systems.

Power options for the hybrid inverters:

HYS-3.8LV-USG1

HYS-4.8LV-USG1

HYS-6.0LV-USG1

HYS-7.6LV-USG1

HYS-9.6LV-USG1

HYS-11.5LV-USG1

3.8 kW

4.8 kW

6.0 kW

7.6 kW

9.6 kW

11.5 kW

Find spec sheets for the new products here.

Sunrise brief: Big name speakers deliver powerful message of inclusion at RE+ 2023 opening

pv magazine — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 12:00:21 +0000

Also on the rise: Planes, trains, or automobiles: Which has the lowest carbon footprint? Storage, inverters, design tools and more at RE+ 2023. And more.

Solar-plus-storage in the spotlight on Tuesday walking tours at RE+ 2023 This series of tours guides attendees through key companies in a variety of energy sectors that are helping shape the clean energy industry. Pre-registration is required.

Big name speakers deliver powerful message of inclusion at RE+ 2023 opening Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff, actor and former White House aide Kal Penn, and CNN’s Van Jones addressed the opening ceremony of RE+ yesterday. The high-profile speakers opened the event and delivered a rallying cry to the solar and energy storage industry to be more inclusive of disadvantaged communities and people of color as it undergoes a period of unprecedented expansion.

Planes, trains, or automobiles: Which has the lowest carbon footprint? Three industry professionals traveled 3,000 miles across America. Their mission: to dissect their carbon footprint. What they found was a complex calculation, with results more tightly-knit than anticipated – and a CO2 revelation.

Carrier launches new series of high-temperature heat pumps Carrier, a U.S.-based heating solutions provider, has introduced a new line of high-temperature heat pumps with capacities ranging from 30 kW to 735 kW, with hydrofluoroolefins as a refrigerant.

Storage, inverters, design tools and more at RE+ 2023 A brief glimpse at what seven exhibitors are showing at the U.S. solar industry’s largest trade show, taking place this week in Las Vegas.

How long do residential solar inverters last? Multiple factors affect the productive lifespan of a residential solar inverter. In Part 2 of our series, we look at solar inverters.

Storage, inverters, design tools and more at RE+ 2023

pv magazine — Tue, 12 Sep 2023 18:00:24 +0000

A brief glimpse at what seven exhibitors are showing at the U.S. solar industry's largest trade show, taking place this week in Las Vegas.

With nearly 1,400 exhibitors at RE+ 2023, held this week in Las Vegas, it’s hard to know where to begin. pv magazine USA brings you a handful of highlights from around the show floor.

Geneverse PowerPillar

The Geneverse PowerPillar, booth 7505, is a solar energy storage system that is now accessible to California installation partners. The DC-coupled includes integrated smart energy management. Its modular facilitates faster and safer installations, the company reports, which can be done by just two specialists. The built-in automatic transfer switch enables connection to a solar system. The PowerPillar was produced with Jackery, a company known for its outdoor portable solar power solutions.

Solectria string inverters

The Solectria XGI 1500-DCG models are shown in booth 925, Sands Level 2. Developed in collaboration with First Solar, these models feature an electrically grounded DC input. All XGI 1500-250 and XGI 1500-200 inverters feature SiC technology, and offer high power and high efficiency, the company reports.

TIGO Go Energy storage solution

Tigo is showing its new Go Energy Storage solution in booth 2664. The storage system offers battery configurations up to 30kWh, features storage-ready hybrid inverters, incorporates an advanced automatic transfer switch and enables whole- or partial-home backup with time-of-use functions.

Anker Solix home energy solutions

Anker, booths 16096 and 21106 , known for its portable charging devices, is introducing its new Solix brand, which includes the X1 Home Energy Solution and the Anker SOLIX F3800 Portable Power Station that provides backup power to the home. With modular design, the company reports that the X1 is customizable with up to six battery packs per system (30kWh) or up to six systems in parallel (180kWh). It has a full temperature working range between -4ºF to 131ºF, a 10-year warranty, and with IP65 outdoor protection, the X1 can output more energy in extremely low temperatures, says Anker.

The company is also showing its F3800, a home power solution that features AC coupling and supports home solar power cycling, paired with the Anker SOLIX Home Power Panel to provide a complete home power cycle. The 3800 boasts a 3.84kWh internal battery, and that can be expanded up to 26.88kWh by adding up to six additional batteries.

Kinematics ONE

Kinematics ONE, in booth 538, is an actuation sub-system that enables solar structure providers to specify the required structural design and loads easily so Kinematics can supply a turnkey system. Kinematics reports that this eliminates the need for the customer to engineer and qualify their own actuation and controls design. The solution uses Wi-SUN FAN (field area network) standard, reportedly proven in more than 100 million node installs in utility and critical infrastructure applications Kinematics ONE was designed to enable OEMs to UL3703 standards and includes documentation needed for end-customers to certify their trackers.

LG Electronics ESS

At the LG Electronics ESS booth #4717 in the Sands Expo Hall, installers can enroll in the LG Pro Program, which offers co-branded sales materials, images, videos and more, designed to help them connect with home and business owners. Installers can also access the LG Electronics’ Residential ESS Installation Program, which provides best practices training and is approved for continuing education credit by The North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP).

The residential ESS Home 8 and commercial LG ESS products are on display in the LG Electronics ESS booth, where the LG ThinQ app will be demonstrated, which lets homeowners remotely monitor and manage the Home 8 system. Also shown is the LG EnerVU platform that offers real-time system status, reporting and ESS fleet information so installers can provide informed, prompt customer service.

Renogy X

Renogy X will show a prototype of its new PowerTower in booth 5970. This all-in-one inverter and battery backup solution is designed to save space, cut installation time and reduce project costs, and it expected to be available in May 2024. Renogy X is also debuting an e-commerce solution for buying residential solar. The direct sales model enables Renogy X to increase homeowner savings for solar projects by up to 40%, the company reports. Renogy, the company behind Renogy X, manufactures its own solar panels, hybrid inverters, and home battery systems.

Regulatory gaps in solar inverters: The pressing need for oversight

John Fitzgerald Weaver — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 15:00:31 +0000

Power grid disturbances are causing older solar inverters to trip in ways that have been well-documented, yet asset owners are failing to update their inverter settings even after these known issues have been publicized.

On the morning of April 10, 2023, a fault in a 345 kV transmission circuit led to a sudden drop of 921 MW in output from nine solar power facilities in Utah. The power grid rectified the fault within 3.5 cycles, or approximately six hundredths of a second. While most plants returned to their initial output within minutes, one remained offline and several took up to five minutes to recover.

Any power loss exceeding 10 MW requires reporting to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). The organization categorized the 921 MW loss as a Category 1i event under its event analysis process.

According to NERC’s 2023 Southwest Utah Disturbance analysis, many of the affected plants began commercial operations around 2016. This suggests that similar latent issues could plague a significant portion of Utah’s solar power infrastructure. A variety of factors contributed to these failures. One facility tripped due to inverter instantaneous AC overcurrent protection, suggesting inner current control issues. Two other facilities went offline for unknown reasons, later attributed to “poor data retention and/or quality.” Additionally, several plants experienced faults due to multiple inverter issues, including phase lock loop loss of synchronism, instantaneous AC overvoltage, and DC reverse current protection.

Disturbingly, these issues are not new. NERC had previously identified similar performance abnormalities in Texas and California, but generation operators (GOs) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have not taken decisive action to mitigate these known risks.

Of the nine affected inverters, seven were manufactured by TMEIC, one by Advanced Energy and one by Sungrow. The Sungrow facility went offline due to anti-islanding protections, which NERC advises should not be enabled on utility-scale solar facilities.

NERC has long advocated for a performance-based ride-through standard to ensure generators remain connected to the bulk power system during disturbances. However, its Project 2020-027, aimed at replacing the outdated PRC-024-3 standard, remains a “work in progress”.

According to NERC, one alarming issue is the discrepancy between what GOs report and what OEMs document. For example, the protections one facility reported were different from those recorded by the OEM during the commissioning process. This means the GOs did not actually implement the interconnection requirements they are obligated to report on.

NERC notes that most required changes involve simple adjustments to existing inverter settings or can be updated easily via firmware.

As the energy grid grows more reliant on inverter-based resources like solar and wind, the industry can’t afford to ignore these latent performance issues. For example, Australia’s ambitious move toward renewables is leading the shift to “grid-forming” inverters, which are poised to become the new backbone of the power grid. These electronic devices are set to replace the mechanical spinning masses that have stabilized our power grids for over a century.

LS Energy Solutions to construct large-scale energy storage to serve CAISO market

Anne Fischer — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 13:55:36 +0000

The 200 MW/400MWh Big Rock project, expected to be online in the second half of 2024, is designed to bring stabililty to the Southern California grid.

LS Energy Solutions (LS-ES), a specialist in grid-connected energy storage solutions, is deploying 200 MW/400 MWh of energy storage to a site in Southern California.

Construction of the project, called Big Rock, will soon be underway and is expected to be online in the second half of 2024. The project will use 137 of the company’s AiON-ESS units, which can store energy for two-hour duration, LS-ES reports.

The AiON-ESS Energy Series is all-in-one integrated system, according to LS-ES, which uses the company’s third-generation string inverters, together with lithium-ion batteries in a single, scaleable enclosure. The AiON integrated solution is also available with lithium-ferro-phosphate (LFP) battery chemistry.

The Big Rock units have a power rating of 1.5 MW and can store 3.5 MWh. Along with tier-1 lithium-ion batteries, the 137 containers include over 1,300 of LS-ES’s modular 140 kVA AiON-SIS string inverters installed inside an air-cooled section of the container, together with a liquid-cooled DC battery compartment. LS-ES reports that the DC battery strings are aggregated in small groups to keep the DC bus voltage at lower, safer levels, and that system can operate from 200 VDC up to 1500 VDC.

As with other AiON-ESS Energy Series installations, the Big Rock installation will integrate DC and AC components inside each container and provide AC output ready to be fed into medium voltage transformers.

The Big Rock energy storage project, located in Imperial County, will provide resource adequacy (RA) and ancillary services to the CAISO market, adding to the 5.6 GW of energy storage already in place. Big Rock will be operated at 100 MW of deliverability to supply 400 MWh and meet the four-hour discharge needs of an RA contract.

The project is being developed by Gore Street Energy Storage Fund, which acquired the site in February 2023 from Avantus, which will continue to provide administrative and development services for the installation. Big Rock joins other energy storage investments by the Gore Street Energy Storage Fund in Texas, Ireland, Great Britain, and Germany.

“The Big Rock project marks GSF’s most recent acquisition, and the company’s biggest to date,” said Alex O’Cinneide, CEO of Gore Street Capital. “As the company’s first project in California, Big Rock will be an important addition to the CAISO grid, helping to deliver stability to a rapidly decarbonising energy system.”

In addition to supplying AiON-ESS containers, LS-ES also expects to provide commissioning support and operations and maintenance services for the life of the project.

LS-ES currently has over 1.5 GW and 2.5 GWh deployed across 300 projects. One of those projects, which also uses AiON-ESS storage systems, is located at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, also home to a 18.6 MW solar installation. The U.S. Army contracted with LS-ES to help further lower the garrison’s total electricity spend, achieved through participation in frequency regulation, demand response, and energy supply markets within PJM, a wholesale electricity market. The storage system was designed to be microgrid-ready to support Army’s resiliency goals.

Visitors to RE+ 2023, taking place September 11-14 in Las Vegas, can see one of the AiON-ESS containers being used in the Big Rock project. The unit will be on display at the ACE Engineering booth at 17114, with representatives of Gore Street Capital also onsite during the event.

Ampt introduces 70 kW output solar string optimizer

Ryan Kennedy — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 18:39:26 +0000

The i50 optimizer supports the largest utility-scale solar projects.

Colorado-based Ampt announced it has released the i50 String Optimizer, a DC optimizer that builds on the company’s i32 model. The i50 supports up to 70 kW of output power.

The optimizer supports system voltages between 600 V and 1500 V, output currents between 32 A and 50 A, and output power between 15 kW to 70 kW. A full spec sheet can be found here.

Ampt’s string optimizers are designed to boost solar output and can support major utility-scale projects. The i32 model has been used in a 380 MW solar-plus-storage in California and a 390 MW project in Chile, the largest solar-plus-storage plant in the nation.

The company’s string optimizers are DC/DC converters that deliver power from the PV array at a fixed voltage. A high fixed voltage allows the system to operate at lower current for a given power, thereby reducing the cost and quantity of electrical components like cables, energy storage, inverters and transformers.

Ampt String Optimizers have two inputs and one output back to the inverter. The optimizers are located between the PV source circuits and the combiner box on a PV system. The optimizer performs maximum power point tracking on each input and delivers full available power to the output at a voltage set by the inverter. This is done without requiring communication between the inverter and optimizers.

The optimizer also has maximum power point tracking on each of its two input strings of PV modules. This mitigates or eliminates mismatch losses to deliver more energy under changing environmental and system conditions over the lifetime of the power plant.

Image: Ampt

“We’re proud to present the new i50 String Optimizer to the market, which is designed to improve the economics of today’s largest, most advanced PV power plants and solar-plus-storage systems,” said Levent Gun, chief executive officer, Ampt.

The 70 kW output allows a single power optimizer to be deployed on each solar tracker. By enabling higher input currents, paralleled PV strings, and flexible string lengths, designers can boost the utilization of each solar tracker without typical string sizing constraints, said Ampt.

Ampt string optimizers include a technology called V-match to automatically match the DC bus voltage while delivering full available power from the solar array. This increases system design flexibility, simplifies controls, and unlocks value across diverse applications.

The optimizers also include a direct-to-battery feature which allows them to connect directly to the battery and follow its state-of-charge voltage while delivering full power from the PV array. The optimizer, battery, and battery inverter share the same DC bus without using battery converters.

Ampt will be exhibiting at RE+ in Las Vegas, Nevada from September 12-14 at booth #1746.

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Top five solar inverter vendors accounted for 71% of shipments in 2022

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Global inverter shipments increased to 330 GWac with Huawei, Sungrow, Ginlong, Solis, Growatt and GoodWe named as the top vendors.

The top 10 global solar inverter vendors accounted for 86% of market share in 2022, increasing by 4% year-over-year since 2021, according to a recent study by Wood Mackenzie.

The market grew 48% year-over-year, attributed to the ease in supply chain challenges, coupled by strong government support, as seen in the U.S. with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

Wood Mackenzie noted that the top five vendors shipped more than 200 GWac and accounted for 71% of total global PV inverter shipments in 2022, up 8% from 2021. The report notes that 2022 top vendor Huawei shipment increased 83%. Ginlong Solis posted growth of 86%.

For the eighth consecutive year, the top two vendors were Huawei and Sungrow. Huawei held the first position with a 29% market share in 2022. Sungrow, winner of the pv magazine award in 2021 and in the “highly recommended” category in 2022, increased its market share two percentage points, from 21% in 2021 to 23% in 2022. Ginlong Solis moved up to third place in 2022, driven by the company’s shipments in China.

The top eight vendors of 2021 were very similar to the lineup in 2022, with only Ginlong Solis and Growatt swapping third and fourth positions from 2021. Aiswei and Sofar jumped up three ranks to enter the top 10 ranking, holding the ninth and tenth positions respectively in 2022. In the APAC region, China led the market with 78% of inverter shipments as solar experienced unprecedented growth. India retained its position as the second largest inverter market in APAC in 2022, but Wood Mackenzie estimates that it had a 25% decrease in shipments year-over-year. Japan had 7 GWac of inverters enter the country, overtaking Australia as the third strongest market with growth of 23% year-over-year growth.

The European region experienced the highest shipment growth with an 82% increase in 2022, following its 44% year-over-year growth in 2021. Wood Mackenzie attributes this to the move toward carbon neutrality by 2050, as part of the European Green Deal plan. Europe accounted for 28% of the global market with 92 GWac shipped.

While the U.S. market is beginning a strong growth trajectory, it accounted for only 13% of the global market with 42 GWac shipped to the country. Solar-plus-storage hybrid inverters made up 10% of the regional shipments as the curtailment of net metering in some markets are leading to a strong energy storage market.