Optimizers & Inverters

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.

Executive and boardroom moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities and energy VC.

Alencon Systems teamed up with Duke Energy to look at some of the challenges faced by a utility when adding a battery storage system to an existing solar installation. DC-coupled or AC-coupled? Grounding scheme?

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

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%

Analysis from Wood Mackenzie shows global inverter demand grew 18% last year. The ten largest inverter suppliers accounted for 76% of the global trade.

A U.S. research group is developing inverters and cybersecurity standards to protect solar installations from cyberattacks. The researchers said that inverters can shut down if they are hacked, or contribute to grid instability and result in the overcharging of batteries, while potentially creating problems that we still don’t know how to address.

GE Research plans to test new controls with its PV LV5 inverter platform — aiming to develop “grid-forming” controls to allow wind and solar inverters to form voltage and frequency levels like traditional generators. The company wants to improve coordination and synchronization among multiple grid-forming resources, and is working to improve the transient stability of systems with high renewables penetration.

Optimizer manufacturer Alencon has published a paper outlining the technical challenges and solutions to replacing the largely-obsolete and frequently-failing 600-volt central inverters used in older PV projects.