Over 1.2 GW of inverter power supplied by SMA in 2017

Solar energy equipment supplier SMA Australia will be finishing up 2017 on a high, having signed contracts to supply more than 1.2 GW of inverter power to more than 20 local utility-scale PV projects over the past 11 months. The capacity of the projects ranges from 10 to 270 MW.

SMA has had a presence in Australia for 10 years, offering solutions for centralised and decentralised PV power plants as well as for residential PV applications and PV hybrid projects. All PV power plants signed this year will be built using the company’s Medium Voltage Power Station (MVPS) and Power Plant Controller, offering flexible farm control. The fully tested MVPS container solution has been deemed suitable for all the projects and is said to reduce transport, installation and operating costs due to its good power density and compact design.

“2017 represents a groundbreaking year for solar farm development in Australia, thanks to improved economic factors and pervasive market interest,” said John Susa, executive vice president of SMA sales North America/APAC. “We are extremely proud to announce that our Medium Voltage Power Station and the SMA Power Plant Controller have been selected for several large-scale PV projects funded by the Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) in Australia this year. This success has been achieved by working closely with different developers and EPCs.

“In addition, we were successful in securing contracts for delivering Sunny Central inverters, MVPS and the SMA Power Plant Controller for another nine utility-scale PV projects. We feel honoured to become part of the booming utility market in Australia with our best-in-class turnkey container solution MVPS and we expect an even better-performing 2018 in front of us.”