ABB

At the smarter E-Intersolar Europe trade show this week, awards have been given to the technologies driving the energy transition to a low carbon future. Prizes include the Intersolar Award, recognizing PV technology; the EES prize for storage innovation; and the smarter E awards – one of which was given to an off-grid agricultural project in Australia.

The Terra High Power charger can charge an electric vehicle (EV) in just eight minutes, thus adding up to 200 km of range, says ABB, which launched the new model at this year’s Hannover Messe.

The Swiss power electronics giant has announced that its UNO-DM-PLUS string inverters are now operationally compatible with Tigo’s DC optimization technology, which also offers module-level monitoring and rapid shutdown capability.

According to the latest GTM Research statistics, global inverter shipments increased 23% in 2017, and revenues 11%, thus representing another record year. A market first, three-phase string inverter shipments overtook those of central inverters.

The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCO) has announced the start of construction on a new hybrid storage facility set to provide spinning reserve power to the country’s grid. The project, according to JPSCO, is the first of its kind in the Caribbean and will be completed by April 2019.

The Swedish storage developer will receive the loan funds via the European Commission’s InnovFin fund, which is part of the Energy Demo Projects facility.

The Swiss-headquartered power electronics firm will install a 230 kV digitally enable substation and connection bay at Brazil’s Juazeiro II substation, which will eventually deliver power from a 156 MW solar plant. 2017 full year financials reveal transitional year for firm.

The Swedish Energy Agency has granted SEK 146 million to support Northvolt Labs’ large-scale battery manufacturing plant in Västerås, Sweden. Project already secured financial backing from ABB, Vestas and Scania.

The truck maker is to partner with Northvolt on developing and commercializing battery cells for use in heavy commercial vehicles.

Inverter overview: As 2017 drew to a close following a record-breaking year for solar, pv magazine sat down to discuss the global inverter landscape with Cormac Gilligan, senior solar analyst at IHS Markit. With China dominant, India’s soaring solar market still very much up for grabs and technical innovation a perennial route to market leadership, these are the six trends that we believe will shape the solar inverter landscape this year.