Inverters

A viral outbreak in the city of Wuhan, in China’s Hubei province, has become a nationwide health crisis with global implications. And with PV manufacturing concentrated in China, there are serious implications for all corners of the solar world, reports Vincent Shaw in Shanghai.

Optimizer manufacturer Alencon has published a paper outlining the technical challenges to replacing the largely obsolete and frequently failing 600 V central inverters used in older PV projects.

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.

Italian inverter maker Fimer has completed its purchase of ABB’s manufacturing and R&D sites in Finland, India and Italy, along with 800 employees in 26 countries. Fimer said the combined business will ship more than 7 GW of inverters this year.

The annual trade show was not particularly well-attended this year, but market sentiment is still positive in Japan – nobody believes that installations will drop due to the coronavirus outbreak. And the country’s upstream industry – modules, batteries, and hydrogen tech – clearly remains compelling, given the number of brave souls who actually did make the trip out to Tokyo Big Sight this year.

The inverters of the TL-XH series have efficiencies ranging from 98.2% to 98.4%. The 10.8 kg devices are compatible with double-glass modules and higher yields, the manufacturer claims.

Lobby group the National Solar Energy Federation of India says around 4 GW of solar plant capacity is likely to be affected by component shortages after the outbreak of the virus in China.

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.

Lack of flannel in the latest quarterly and full-year filing indicates the Israeli inverter maker is happy the figures speak for themselves. The company is in an expansionary mode as it enters the energy storage and electrical vehicle markets with cash from its financial warchest.

Japanese researchers have investigated the effectiveness of SiC devices in sub-kilowatt applications. A 790g device was tested in a mini PV generator system which included a battery and maximum power point tracker circuit in the same housing. Compared to traditional mini inverters the SiC device showed 3% higher efficiency.