Canadian Solar’s e-Storage company announced it has launched SolBank 3.0, the latest iteration of its utility-scale battery energy storage system. The company said the new product offers up to 45% more capacity and a 40% decrease in commissioning time compared to the previous 2.0 iteration.
The 20-foot containerized battery system offers power up to 2.35 MW and a capacity of 5 MWh. It features higher density energy cells, advanced safety systems, liquid cooling, and active balance controls.
SolBank 3.0 is comprised of lithium-ferro-phosphate cells and sports a 93% round-trip efficiency. It is offered in 2-hour and 4-hour duration configurations. The battery pack is IP-67 rated for safety.
The battery comes equipped with a pack and electrical redundancy protection system, abnormal performance detection, multi-level fire alarms, suppression protection, and more as part of its safety and controls system. An optimized thermal management system reduces auxiliary power consumption by up to 30% compared to the previous generation, said Canadian Solar.
“SolBank 3.0 features exceptional new elements like higher energy density cells and advanced safety design,” said Colin Parkin, president of e-Storage. “In addition, our e-STORAGE team also provides value-added services, such as system capacity maintenance and augmentations, operation and maintenance, and plant optimization.”
Earnings
Last month, Canadian Solar reported its Q3, 2023 earnings, noting a surprised miss on revenues and earnings per share.
The major global provider of solar cells and modules and developer of utility-scale solar and energy storage projects recorded an earnings per share of $0.32, falling short of Wall Street expectations by 54%. It also delivered $1.85 billion in revenue, short of the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion.
Solar module shipments totaled 8.3 GW, falling just short of expectations. However, the company’s module shipments have increased 39% on a year-over-year basis. Gross margins were 16.7%, falling short of the range of expectation between 17.5% to 19.5%. Falling module prices are likely driving the shrinking gross margins.
Canadian Solar expects module demand to rise sharply in 2024, with shipments rising roughly 50% year-over-year. Roth Capital Partners warned that this may be a bit optimistic as the company looks to clear excess inventory channels in Europe. Roth expects module demand to raise only 10% to 15% in 2024, driven mostly by utility-scale demand, while residential solar demand may further peel back in 2024.
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