Lowering grid costs with voltage support from PV inverters at night
US researchers have proposed the use of solar inverters in utility-scale solar assets to replace expensive voltage compensators, in order to provide voltage support at night. They said reactive power from PV inverters could be significantly cheaper and suggested the introduction of incentives to convince PV plant owners.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: Tongwei, JA Solar reveals capacity expansion plans
Tongwei has revealed plans to add 25 GW of new module capacity at a new factory in Jiangsu province, while JA Solar has said that it will expand wafer, cell and module capacity across two industrial sites.
EU aims for 30 GW of solar module production by 2025
The European Commission has launched the EU Solar PV Industry Alliance. SolarPower Europe has already joined the new entity, while EIT InnoEnergy said it will act as its secretariat.
Growatt unveils new inverters for residential off-grid PV systems
Growatt’s new 6 kW inverters have an efficiency rating of 93% and offer 12,000 VA of surge power, up to 500 V of input voltage, and 8 kW of PV input capacity.
Australian science agency to back domestic silicon, solar supply chain
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has urged the Australian government to develop a domestic solar manufacturing industry. A new report warns that the high concentration of global silicon and PV cell supply chains pose real risks to the national energy security.
Enphase to add up to 7.2 GW of US solar microinverter production capacity
Enphase CEO Badri Kothandaraman has said that the company will build four to six new manufacturing lines in the United States.
Poweron presents new hybrid inverters for residential solar applications
India’s Poweron has developed wall-mount hybrid solar inverters with nominal power ratings of 3.68 kW, 4.6 kW, and 5 kW. They are compatible with lead-acid and Li-ion batteries.
Kaco unveils string inverters for rooftop solar arrays
Kaco has launched a new line of blueplanet NX3 three-phase string inverters for applications ranging from small residential rooftop arrays to projects on commercial buildings. They have outputs between 3 kW and 33 kW, a maximum efficiency of 98.0%, and a maximum European efficiency of 97.6%.
India launches second phase of solar production incentive scheme
Solar Energy Corp. of India (SECI) has started accepting applications from solar manufacturers under the second phase of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, with an outlay of about $2.4 billion.
Polycab unveils grid-tie string solar inverters
India’s Polycab has unveiled compact, lightweight grid-tie string solar inverters with power outputs ranging from 1 kW to 5 kW.
