Balance of Systems

The PV inverter market achieved record shipments in 2019, writes IHS Markit’s Miguel de Jesus, driven by booming shipments in key markets such as the United States, Spain, Latin America, Ukraine and Vietnam. Revenue rose rapidly, surpassing the $9 billion mark in 2019 for the first time.

Solar assets are underperforming far more frequently than official energy estimates would suggest, according to the industry experts who contributed to KwH Analytics’ 2020 solar risk assessment report.

Featuring a monitoring system that tracks system performance, a comprehensive operating platform and stackable system design, Fluence claims its new solution is capable of reaching gigawatt-sized deployments while driving project costs down as much as 25%.

Guidehouse Insights has released a report evaluating 15 DES integrators and ranking the top-10 among them, with a special focus on companies shifting away from origination and development towards acting as pure-play integrators.

China’s cumulative installed PV capacity topped 208 GW at the end of March, thanks to 3.95 GW of new projects completed in the first quarter. JinkoSolar and Longi both joined the 500 W-plus module race, with their new panels offering 580 W and 530 W of output, respectively. Ginlong, meanwhile, has revealed plans to raise funds to increase its annual inverter production capacity to 20 GW, and Xi’An Solar has claimed a 23.2% efficiency rate for its N-type TOPCon modules in mass production.

“The standard electrical panel has not seen major innovation for nearly a century.”

Even though the U.S. market is showing some signs of stabilizing, the decline in installation rates in April alone was 33%.

Longi and Sungrow both announced solid financial results last week. Module maker China Solar delayed the resumption of trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, and polysilicon producer GCL-Poly unveiled plans to raise up to $16.8 million by issuing shares. Coal miner Baofeng Energy, meanwhile, announced the construction of what it claims will be the world’s largest PV-powered hydrogen plant, and Seraphim and Lu’An Solar revealed that they will open a 5 GW PV panel factory in China’s Jiangsu province.

Enphase Energy’s Q1 revenue exceeded expectations as the company set an all-time gross margin record and announced plans for a new manufacturing location. Enphase stock is up 15%

Although it doesn’t seem to impact solar directly, energy storage might be threatened. “The order leaves more questions than it answers,” according to Norton Rose Fulbright. What is motivating the administration? China? Why now?