AEG Power Solutions, part of parent company 3W Power, has updated its guidance for its financial performance for 2012. The company, which is currently the subject of a friendly takeover bid by Andrem Power, which is itself wholly owned by Nordic Capital Fund VII, expects its revenue to grow to between €430 and €460 million from €428 million in 2011. However, profitability margins are expected to fall as a result of economic factors.
The 290MW Agua Caliente solar project in Arizona, being built by First Solar, will be utilizing over 400 SMA Sunny Central 720CP inverters. SMA American advised that its technology had been chosen for the plant, which is expected to reach operation in 2014. The company notes that its Sunny Central CP inverters were designed for use in large, open-field PV plants and are able to withstand ambient temperatures up to 50?C.
PV inverter market leader, SMA Solar Technology, has provided 2012 guidance that has sent shockwaves through the investment community as revenue and margins are expected to take a significant nosedive. Management said in a statement that 2012 sales would be between €1.2 billion and €1.5 billion, while EBIT margin would be between 5-10%. SMA Solar reported preliminary 2011, full-year financial results in January of €1.7 billion in sales and EBIT of more than €240 million. The mid-point of the guidance, which the company had previously declined to provide due to uncertainty in the market, will represent over a 20% decline in revenues and a 60% fall in EBIT.
The University of Texas at Austin’s (UT) new 200kW solar system is sporting seven of Ideal Power Converters (IPC) 30kW PV inverters. Each inverter weighs only 94 pounds, compared to traditional inverters, which can weigh nearly 1,200 pounds. IPC’s inverter delivers 480V AC 3-phase power and supports grounded solar arrays without an internal or external transformer.
Citing an expected strong Japanese market, PV inverter market leader, SMA Solar Technology has officially opened its new sales and service subsidiary in Japan, which will initially support small-scale PV system installations. The company noted that support for larger-scale system installations would come later, without providing timelines.
Preliminary figures from IMS Research indicate that PV inverter shipments reached a new record high in 2011. According to the market research firm, shipments grew by more than 10% and exceeded 26GW for the first time. IMS Research’s preliminary Q4’11 report, projects inverter shipments grew by up to 15% in 2011, with more than 8GW shipped in the last quarter of the year.
PV inverter shipments may have dipped slightly in 2011, according to IHS PV Inverter Market Tracker report, yet shipments are expected to more than double to 52GW in 2015. Shipments of PV inverters fell to the equivalent of 23.4GW in 2011, down 1% from 23.6GW in 2010, according to the market research firm.
PV inverter manufacturer, Power-One reported net sales of US$267 million, with Renewable Energy Solutions contributing US$191 million and Power Solutions segment sales reaching US$76 million for the fourth quarter of 2011. Driving sales was greater market penetration in the utility-scale sector in North America and Asia-Pacific, as revenue in these regions increased to 25%, compared to 17% in the prior quarter. Power-One had sales of 829MW of PV inverters in the fourth quarter.
Danfoss Solar Inverters and MimtaSolar have entered an agreement, which will see MimtaSolar distribute Danfoss’s TLX and ULX inverter series throughout Turkey. The company will offer its single phase products in the 1.8kW to 5.4kW range and three phase products in the 6kW to 15kW range. The Danfoss inverter line is slated to be integrated into Mimta’s turnkey PV systems.
A global survey conducted by IMS Research has found that an increasing number of PV inverter customers consider Chinese inverters to be of acceptable quality.
