Huawei

Chinese manufacturers including Trina Solar, Risen Energy and JA Solar have established a group to design and produce bigger PV modules. The 39-member alliance also includes inverter suppliers including Huawei, Sungrow and SMA.

Also, a court in Beijing is now reviewing an application for bankruptcy filed by a unit of Hanergy. In other developments this week, a diverse range of solar industry players launched the 600W+ Photovoltaic Open Innovation Ecological Alliance.

Developer 7C Solarparken has deployed a 729 kW floating system on a lake near Salzwedel. Power trader Next Kraftwerke will integrate power generated at the site into its virtual power plant.

With power ranging from 2-6 kW in the seven-device series, the Sun2000-2-6KTL-L1 string inverters offer efficiencies of 98.2-98.4%. The 12kg products measure 365x365x156mm and feature two maximum power point tracking channels.

The Chinese conglomerate has revealed how it will further integrate artificial intelligence (AI) in its string devices this year. The approach includes the transformation of inverters into smart PV controllers, the development of AI inference modules and the creation of an AI training and inference platform. Machine learning will also be incorporated into operations and maintenance, grid management and PV plant design.

Analysis from Wood Mackenzie shows global inverter demand grew 18% last year. The ten largest inverter suppliers accounted for 76% of the global trade.

The solar plant was built with fixed structures on a 400-hectare water surface at a fishery in Anhui province. The project was the first unsubsidized plant approved by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in 2019 and is selling power at a price of RMB 0.3844 ($0.054) per kWh.

Researchers in Pakistan have evaluated the impact of shading on inverter set-ups to assess PV system performance. Tests were conducted on a 51 kW system featuring SMA inverter topologies but the researchers say the findings could be applied to products from other manufacturers. The results showed the number of maximum power point trackers is important but levelized cost of energy calculations are also crucial to selecting the right inverter configuration.

The winners of the 2019 pv magazine awards have been recognized in a ceremony alongside the World Future Energy Summit. The victors spoke of the importance of innovation being recognized within the industry.

Battery innovations started to come thick and fast this quarter as the hunt for alternatives to lithium-ion intensified and the latest slew of solar tenders indicated the relentless pressure on solar power generation costs was showing no sign of abating.