Inverters

Advanced solar panels, inverters, batteries and plant monitoring technologies are revolutionizing the solar sector.

US-based energy tech company Enphase Energy appears to have overcome the adversity it faced in the mid-2010s, when it was grappling with competition from string inverters and slower growth in the residential segment. Now that rooftop solar is hot again, Enphase’s co-founder and chief product officer, Raghu Belur, sat down with Tristan Rayner to discuss the microinverter pioneer’s approach to quality in a time of rapid change and the growing utility of connected devices.

The nation is going to make great strides in new utility-scale solar installation this year after adding just about 2.6 GW in 2020.

IHS Markit released a white paper in which the analyst outfit shared some predictions for the power electronics market. First and foremost, inverters will become smarter, and after some power outages in key markets, these devices are gearing up to take on more grid stabilizing tasks, which hitherto had been reserved for synchronous generators.

A U.S. research group is now developing new inverters to protect solar installations from cyberattacks. The researchers also aim to create new cybersecurity standards. Professor Alan Mantooth, the group’s research coordinator, said that inverters can be 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.

The OneBox, from Indian manufacturer Vision Mechatronics, consists of a lithium battery, hybrid inverter and solar charge controller to give a hassle-free solution for electricity back-up during power outages. Solar rooftop owners are offered a grid feed feature to maximize net metering income from any excess power generated.

Scientists in India have tested a new inverter topology with a single-phase, induction-motor water pump. The seven-level inverter, with five power semiconductor switches, is said to be particularly efficient at reducing switching losses thanks to a pulse width modulation technique.

The wall-mount charger with a high power output of 22 KW AC maximum reduces electric vehicle charging time by up to 70% in comparison to common 7KW AC chargers. The 125 KW string inverter—a cloud-connected three-phase solution—enables cost-efficient decentralized photovoltaic systems for both ground-mounted and large commercial applications.

This year will see strong growth for the global PV market, to 114 GW, and that pattern will continue in the years ahead, according to analyst Wood Mackenzie. A report has highlighted soaring inverter replacement costs for PV project owners as a side-effect of the solar success story.

Bids are invited to supply 10 sets of 1×5 MW or 2×2.5MW 3-phase grid-connected containerized power-conditioning units for a MAHAGENCO project in Maharashtra. The scope of work also includes installation and commissioning. Bids will open on October 10.