Inverters

South Australia’s electricity distributor SA Power Networks has announced plans to introduce new ‘flexible’ export limits for rooftop solar PV in some areas of the state in a bid to manage the growing amount of distributed energy resources and associated network congestion.

Greater dispatchability will be required from solar as it becomes increasingly mainstream worldwide, or investors could experience diminishing returns as a victim of the technology’s success at bearing down on electricity prices.

The Chinese manufacturer has unveiled a low-voltage battery with a modular design and a high-voltage storage system which is claimed to have a one-hour, ultra-rapid charge rate.

As distributed PV grows, new grid codes have scared installers across some markets. Network operators want to gain control over grid export, even of smaller arrays. Additions of new array controllers and special gateways could be costly putting speedy development of PV at risk. Fret not, says Fimer, as the Italy-based power-electronics manufacturer has placed the solution to the problem already inside its latest inverter range.

“Unprecedented” was a term widely used in 2020, as the world grappled with the Covid-19 pandemic. The same word can be similarly applied to the plans and investments in production capacity announced by Chinese PV manufacturers right across the supply chain. But what shape are these expansions taking and what is driving this renewed confidence? Vincent Shaw reports from Shanghai.

Just as Australia thought it’s pioneering days were over, it has become the first country in the world to sell American giant General Electric’s new solar inverters.

With rooftop solar installations numbers hitting record highs right across the nation, the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has announced new technical standards for inverters will be introduced to help the electricity grid cope with the influx and provide system strength.

With rooftop solar surging, smart power electronics will be required to secure system strength and ensure that new limitations on rooftop PV don’t put a break on growth. Italy-based power electronics supplier FIMER believes its new range of string inverters are well equipped to do just that, as explains Fimer Australia and New Zealand’s Jason Venning and Warren Merritt.

Long-standing solar PV manufacturer Suntech is set to expand its offerings in the Australian market with the imminent release of sister company Sunways’ range of single-phase inverters.

Chinese solar inverter giant Sungrow has taken the first step towards increasing its Australian market share in 2021 with the launch of its second generation three-phase residential inverters.