Siemens to open US utility-scale solar inverter factory

From pv magazine USA

Germany-based Siemens has revealed plans to add manufacturing capacity in the United States, with a new factory that will produce 800 MW of utility-scale string inverters per yeae from 2024. 

The facility, which will be operated by Siemens’ manufacturing partner, Sanmina, will produce Blueplanet string inverters. Siemens acquired Kaco's inverter business in 2019. At the time of the acquisition, Kaco was already actively producing inverters at the site in Kenosha, Wisconsin. 

Tax credits and demand-side incentives, like the domestic content bonus in the US Inflation Reduction Act, are attracting record levels of clean energy manufacturing to the United States, and the Siemens announcement adds to the growing domestic supply chain. Over the past four years, the German group has invested $3 billion in US manufacturing and other acquisitions. 

“Working with Sanmina to establish this new production line, Siemens is well positioned to address supply challenges our country is facing as we work to localize production for green and renewable infrastructure,” said Brian Dula, vice president of electrification and automation at Siemens Smart Infrastructure USA. 

Kaco Blueplanet inverters range from 110 kW to 165 kW and offer a more modular, transportable option for utility- scale projects than large, containerized central inverters. The inverters are made with a reliable silicon carbide design, are NEMA 4X enclosed, and are compatible with fused, cable-trunking systems, eliminating the need for string-combiner boxes. 

“Single-MPPT inverters are proving to be the preferred choice when it comes to ease of layout and flexibility in design. It is clear that in today’s inverter landscape there is no one multi-MPPT inverter which can provide a satisfactory design for all high-power modules,” said Siemens in a white paper for the inverter. “The Kaco single MPPT string inverter range offers a much easier and more flexible design through the use of DC combiners which is crucial when optimizing your PV module layout.”