Inverters

The EPC contractor and solar PV module manufacturer aims to capture over 15% of India’s Rs 600 crore off-grid solar inverter market by 2022, thus becoming one of the largest solar inverter players in the segment.

India’s Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued guidelines for solar PV inverter manufacturers to get their products tested and approved by Bureau of India Standards (BIS) certified labs. These guidelines apply to off-grid, grid-tie and hybrid inverters of capacities up to 150 KW.

While Bureau of India Standards (BIS) certification is an honest attempt by the Indian government to mitigate risks associated with poor quality of modules, there are several reasons why this particular objective is currently not being met. pv magazine India’s Uma Gupta investigates India’s efforts to ensure quality in its booming PV industry.

The German giant – which manufactures central inverters near Mumbai – announced plans last week to acquire Kaco and start a new smart infrastructure business from April 1. In light of those moves, pv magazine spoke to IHS Markit’s Cormac Gilligan about the new kid, albeit huge, on the block.

The German powerhouse – which makes central inverters for PV projects in India – wants to complete the acquisition by July. Indian employees will be hoping target company Kaco’s disposal of its central inverter operation last month will avert job losses by removing any potential overlap between the manufacturers.

The French power electronics specialist is pulling out of the utility-scale segment to strengthen its profile in the residential and C&I space.

The Chinese solar PV inverter manufacturer expects to touch 3.5-3.6 GW of sales by March 2019 in the country. Expanding its lineup, it plans to launch inverters for residential sector too in the second half of the current year.

High solar irradiance and few cloudy days are ideal for solar. Fine dust and extreme heat is not – particularly when it comes to power electronics. As the distributed generation market segment emerges across hot climates, extreme conditions are a challenge inverter suppliers are grappling with.

Delhi-based solar developer Azure Power had bid for a 2 GW project on a single site, as well as 600 MW of manufacturing capacity. According to reports, the government has rejected the bid, however, stating that the quoted price is unreasonable.

The procurement will be worth an estimated Rs16,000 crore, and will stipulate the use of 1.2 GW of Indian-made equipment. The power generated will replace 4 GW of coal-fired electricity consumption used by the railways.