inverters

In this week's Movers & Shakers segment, PV Tech examines new US solar employment initiatives, new up-and-coming technology and industry policy debates as well as career moves by influential individuals.

Market research firm IHS has reconfirmed Huawei's position as the largest inverter manufacturer globally by shipments in 2015.

Distributed generation projects are the prime market for string inverters in the US, according to one rooftop developer.

This year saw Ghana not only install the largest solar project in East and West Africa, but also a major 30MW module manufacturing facility near its capital, Accra, in what is a major milestone for the upstream solar sector across Africa. PV Tech visited the plant to understand some of developer 3SIL's thinking behind location and business.

SolarEdge's Lior Handelsman explains some of the thinking and development processes behind HD Wave, which the publicly-listed Israeli company believes represents a significant leap forward for inverter technology. The product was launched at the beginning of the year, when Handelsman said in another interview for PV Tech that inverters can now "evolve at the speed of electronics, not mechanics".

Power electronics and O&M firm Ingeteam is taking over the solar business of Italy-based PV inverter company Bonfiglioli Riduttori.

The ease of due diligence on inverters and increased technical awareness among the investor community has helped ease bankability issues surrounding Chinese inverters in recent years.

SolarEdge and SMA’s launches of inverters compatible with Tesla’s Powerwall and LG Chem’s new range mark a “growing trend” towards higher voltage batteries for residential PV systems, an IHS analyst has said.

Global shipments of PV inverters will reach 90GW by 2020, valuing at more than US$7.1 billion, according to GTM Research’s latest report, 'The Global PV Inverter and MLPE Landscape 2016'. This represents an average annual growth rate of 11% between 2016 and the end of the decade.

Despite preparing investors’ expectations for flat revenues in 2016, inverter maker SMA Solar Technology has reported an increase in sales for the first quarter and exceeded management expectations by more than €10 million (US$11.4 million).