Intersolar 2023: Sungrow FPV steers industry’s high-quality development through turbulent cycles

Recent developments have unveiled a promising exploration into a new frontier, as floating solar farms have captured considerable attention in their expansion from land to the ocean. These offshore PV systems possess unique advantages and stand poised to be integrated with marine fisheries, tidal flat aquaculture, and other complementary industries, thereby facilitating the comprehensive utilisation of energy resources and illustrating a vast potential for further growth.

As an esteemed frontrunner in this field, Sungrow FPV achieved an impressive milestone in 2022, exceeding 2.2 GW in global applications. With over 200 implemented floating PV projects, the company has consistently maintained its position as the global market leader for five consecutive years.

Building upon its esteemed reputation, Sungrow FPV showcased its latest floating PV system solution at this year’s Intersolar Europe Exhibition. This unveiling serves to fortify the company’s competitive edge within the upscale European market.

When it comes to this new market segment, Sungrow FPV has successfully weathered numerous obstacles, traversing the hurdles from its nascent stage to arduous exploration, eventually culminating in undertaking notable projects and reaping the rewards. The company has steadfastly deepened its roots and solidified its standing within the industry. Consequently, it is pertinent to inquire about the company’s profound insights and strategic approaches pertaining to expanding into international markets, refining its product offerings and solutions, as well as its vision for future development.

International market and product marketing strategy

PV Tech: What specific products and solutions is Sungrow FPV showcasing focusing on the overseas market, particularly Europe? Why are these products being promoted and what are their key features and application scenarios?

Wang Lei: Sungrow FPV has introduced a tailored floating PV system solution for the European floating PV market. Our floating PV system solution was designed to adapt to customer requirements while ensuring high reliability, allowing for flexible adjustments to accommodate varying snow loads. This is particularly important for Europe, where snow loads can be significant. By utilising adjustable brackets and floating structures, our products can effectively mitigate the impact of snow loads in different regions.

Additionally, our solutions optimise the utilisation of surface area on the water. The floating structures occupy a relatively low proportion of the water surface. They are simple, easy to install, and suitable for cost-sensitive regions in Europe. Our products can be applied in various settings such as reservoirs, ponds, irrigation water bodies, and river channels.

Based on your observations, what distinguishes this year’s Intersolar Exhibition from previous years? And what are the differences between the international market and the Chinese market?

Intersolar is one of the most influential and widely recognised global PV exhibitions, serving as the preferred platform for industry professionals and attendees worldwide. It is considered a barometer for technology trends and market dynamics. Despite the overwhelming popularity of this year’s exhibition, we successfully unveiled a new floating PV system solution, further solidifying Sungrow FPV’s competitiveness in the high-end European market.

At the same time, Sungrow FPV values our development in the global market. We have experienced rapid business growth in regions such as Europe, the Americas, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. Throughout the globalisation process, we deeply understand the varying pain points of customers in different markets. Therefore, we always prioritise customer needs, design solutions tailored to specific local conditions, and strive to deliver customer value.

Which specific overseas niche markets does the company see as promising? And what are the key target markets for Sungrow FPV in the international arena?

Currently, Sungrow FPV focuses on key markets overseas including Europe, the Americas, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. For example, in Europe, there are numerous projects with relatively smaller individual scales. European customers also prioritise integrated product solutions. Our operational philosophy revolves around long-term investment, deep market insights, customer-oriented approaches, and adherence to an “internationalisation + localisation” strategy.

In Southeast Asia, there is a significant demand for large-scale projects. Customers in this region may emphasise the overall cost of the project. Additionally, some customers may have requirements for local production. Therefore, we tailor our products and solutions according to local conditions and employ different strategies for diverse regions and customers.

However, one common thread is that Sungrow FPV views technological innovation as the driving force. We will continue to focus on the development of floating PV in-depth, deepen our research in frontier and common key technologies, increase investment in research and development and innovation, enhance the competitiveness of our floating PV system solutions, expand our market share, and enable more end-users to access clean electricity.

Market insight, overall layout and goals

With the increasing application of floating solar power plants, their economic viability is becoming more apparent. A new report from Wood Mackenzie predicts a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 15% for FPV over the next decade. What are your thoughts on the development prospects of this field?

Based on the current market situation, floating solar power plants have already become an important player in the PV industry, gaining more attention and application. Several professional research institutions also hold an optimistic view on the development prospects of floating solar power plants. For example, HIS Markit and Wood Mackenzie predict an installation capacity of 13-25GW for FPV between 2022 and 2026. These reports also indicate that floating solar power plants will play a significant role in energy transition, environmental protection, and economic benefits.

In addition to the market development prospects, floating solar power plants also possess great potential in specific application scenarios. The most prominent one is the expansion of photovoltaics from land to the sea. Offshore solar power has unique advantages and can be combined with marine fisheries and tidal flat aquaculture to achieve the comprehensive utilisation of energy and resources. With continuous technological advancements and expansion of application scenarios, floating solar power plants will become an indispensable part of the photovoltaic industry, making significant contributions to the energy transition, environmental protection, and sustainable development.

Facing the rapid development of the floating solar industry, Sungrow FPV always focuses on enhancing its technical capabilities, projects, and services to increase its strengths. We continuously promote product upgrades and optimisation, actively participate in setting global standards for the floating solar industry, and lead the industry in orderly development. We also prioritise providing comprehensive services and support to our customers, continuously improving customer satisfaction, and enhancing our brand and market competitiveness.

While experiencing rapid growth, what development challenges or issues do you think the floating solar industry currently faces? How can these be resolved?

In recent years, the floating solar industry has entered a phase of rapid development, but it still faces some challenges and issues. The main ones include the lack of relevant industry standards. Whether related to system design, transportation, installation, stack-loading, acceptance, or operation and maintenance, there is a lack of standardised regulations. For example, there are no long-term durability assessments, quality requirements, or system design standards for the materials used in floating solar power plants. These standards involve multiple disciplines such as materials, structures, mechanics, and marine engineering, making them highly complex and demanding. The absence of these basic standards leads to the presence of subpar floating PV systems and a mix of good and bad practices, which is actually detrimental to the overall development of the industry.

As a leading company in this industry, Sungrow FPV is committed to setting industry standards. Our products have been certified and tested by multiple international authoritative certification institutions, including TUV, DNV, WARS, and Jianheng. We have also taken the lead in setting multiple standards for floating solar products. We are dedicated to promoting the standardised, regulated, and healthy development of the global floating solar industry.

What are the strategies and achievements of Sungrow FPV in the field of floating solar power? What competitive advantages does the company have?

In recent years, Sungrow FPV has undertaken numerous projects in the field of floating solar power. Several notable cases include providing floating PV system solutions for Shandong Dezhou Floating Power Station, which is currently the world’s largest floating power plant. We have also worked on the first hundred-meter depth floating project in Indonesia and the Sirindhorn Dam project in Thailand, which features significant water depth and large water level variations. For these benchmark projects, we have provided comprehensive floating PV system solutions.

In the Sirindhorn Dam project, we installed over 1.44 million solar modules with a total capacity of 58.5MW. It can reduce annual CO² emissions by 470,000 tons, assisting Thailand in reducing its reliance on high-polluting thermal power generation and achieving the goal of increasing the proportion of renewable energy to 35% by 2037.

Sungrow FPV continues to engage in technological innovation in the field of floating solar power, offering a range of efficient and stable floating PV system solutions. We have filed for more than 150 patents. Through continuous exploration and research, our R&D team has defined large-scale floating power plants and overcome technical challenges related to uneven settlement in subsidence areas, applications in deep waters with large water level variations, and extreme scenarios such as Category 16 typhoons and acidic water conditions. We have achieved certain successful results in the global market.

By the end of 2022, Sungrow FPV’s floating PV system solutions have been installed globally with a cumulative capacity exceeding 2.2GW. We have implemented over 200 floating solar projects worldwide. According to IHS data, we have maintained the global market share as the number one supplier for five consecutive years.

What are the development expectations or goals for the company in 2023? What plans do you have for the future?

In the future, Sungrow FPV will continue to focus on our core business of floating solar power. With a positioning as a technology-driven company, we will persist in technological depth and leadership, adhere to innovative empowerment, and expand our global presence. Our grand vision is to become a global leader in floating solar power. We will strive tirelessly towards higher business goals and rapid sustainable development.