Inverters

The approach combines virtual impedance and a modified pulse-width modulation strategy to suppress fault currents in grid-connected PV systems.

The Italian manufacturer said the product is based on a technical solution previously used for power downgrading. The device is said to be ideal for projects at altitudes greater than 1,000m.

At its recent “Analyst Day” presentation, the company also showed off a 640 W two-module commercial inverter, as well as an “Ensemble in a Box” solar+storage package for two PV modules.

Intersolar Europe is always a key date in the solar calendar but this year’s show had it all, including three panel-smuggling arrests. Elsewhere, wafers were getting bigger, efficiency records were tumbling and new technologies were emerging. There was also more news on the solar car ports fad and Hanwha’s ongoing legal tussle.

The first part of pv magazine’s review of 2019 considers Q1, when solar early adopter Italy offered an optimistic start to the year by fleshing out its plans for PV but uncertainty still clouded the world’s biggest solar market. The potential for household solar installations to rocket the world over – helped by ever cheaper panels – prompted strategic decisions in the inverter market and analyst expectations were confounded as the cobalt and lithium price plummeted, bringing the EV revolution a big step nearer.

pv magazine recently attended the opening ceremony of TBEA’s GW-class new energy equipment manufacturing base in Bangalore, India. Bangalore is the capital of Karnataka state in southern India and the city also hosted the recent Intersolar India exhibition and conference in the same week as TBEA’s inauguration ceremony.

A Malaysian study has compared the techniques used to reduce total harmonic distortion caused by PV systems. The paper, which considers the benefits and drawbacks of the approaches studied, suggests the use of adaptive filters.

Solaredge wants to enable households have a higher solar self-consumption with its new product. The Israeli PV company’s solution can now be ordered in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

In a short conversation with pv magazine, the company’s CEO, Vito Nardi, said shipments for this year are expected to reach 866 MW. The inverter manufacturer also expects a rate of production of 2 GW per year by the end of next year.

Earlier this month, pv magazine held its first webinar under the UP sustainability initiative, looking at greenwashing versus verifiable sustainability. Initiative partner SMA and Professor Dustin Mulvaney shared their insights in a lively discussion. Many questions were submitted by the webinar participants. What follows are those we did not have time to answer.