Exclusive Interview With Mr.Rucas Wang – Regional Manager Asia Pacific, Growatt
- How much Inverters have you supplied to India till now, what is the target/expectation in 2016-17
Growatt has supplied over 30MW inverters in India, covering residential as well as commercial scenarios, in 2017 we are aiming at penetrating the utility grade power plant market, we can provide flexible solution including large capacity string inverter up to 50kW and central inverter up to 2.52MW, indoor and outdoor, with proven good performance in Thailand, our inverters are very suitable for tropical climates
- The recent aggressive bidding by various developers keeping Solar Tariffs in the price range of Rs.4.34 – Rs.5 per kWh in various Solar Tenders…What’s your view on the viability, Costs & timeline pressures, Resource Challenges (Materials, ManPower, Execution, Grid Connection, Land Possession) etc…
- Kindly enlighten our readers on the performance of your Inverters in India in various geographic locations, customer feedback,.
The performance of our inverters is very good—safe and reliable, and the customers like to purchase them next time.The inverters are very popular in India, and they have a long life span and work very well. For after-sales, it is quite good, no need to worry about the quality and the technology.
- Present some noteworthy projects, case studies of solar plants built using your solar Inverters
Growatt40000TL3-NS inverters have been applied in Galanze 52MW Rooftop PV power plant successfully in China. Maximum efficiency of the inverters is up to 99%, and the MPPT efficiency is up to 99.5%.
Growatt40000TL3-NS integrates Anti-PID protection, AFCI protection, and Type II DC/AC surge protection, and that will enable the whole system more stable and reliable. In addition, thin-film capacitor on main Bus circuit guarantees inverter lifetime, and new smart cooling design reduces the temperature rise of key components so as to improve inverter lifetime.
Growatt has supplied CP2000 Station-S compact central inverters to a recently completed 20MW project in Thailand developed by Jetion Solar. The plant consists of 4 sub-plants of 5MW, three of which use Growatt outdoor central inverters which have a 2MW capacity in a 10ft container size with IP54 ingress protection, and thermal performance that can handle 50C degree heat, while fully operational. Another sub-plant used Growatt’s 20000TL3-HE string inverter, which had been applied in a 90MW ground power plant in Phitsanulok, Thailand, which had already demonstrated high efficiency of up to 99% with its fanless design since deployed around a year ago. The Jetion developed plant used 63,360 300Wp multicrystaline PV modules.
- Please describe in brief about your company, directors, promoters, investors, its vision & mission
Growatt was founded in May,2010, over 5GW installation worldwide, a fast-growing and professional company, focusing on photovoltaic inverters and storage solution, famous as a world leading manufacturer and provider of cost-effective photovoltaic inverters with high efficiency.
Growatt cooperates with Sequoia capital, the only one PV enterprise getting Sequoia capital investment. The directors are R&D background and have more than 10 years experience in solar energy.
Growatt offers a full range of solar inverters from 1kW to 2.52MW, and energy storage solutions for on-grid and off-grid applications, as well as smart home energy management solution. Growatt’s solar inverters has exported to more than 100 countries in Europe, North America ,Australia, Asia, Africa and Latin America, and get much appreciation from global clients. Growatt keeps the leading Chinese inverter manufacturer and fights for the largest residential intelligent energy solution provider.
- What is the size of your company in terms of manufacturing capacities, growth chart, future expansion plans, revenues, shipments, ASP’s, financial figures,
the factory’s max producing capacity is over 3GW annually, Growatt has been growing very fast since 2010, in totalwe have shipped over 5 GW inverters globally,
- What are your plans for India, your view on the GOI target of 100GW Solar Power by 2022
the target may be a little bit aggressive, but surely the Indian solar market is and will be booming in the next several years, We plan to maintain and develop the solar market in India with heart and soul now and the future.
- What are your plans for Manufacturing set up in India, the opportunities and challenges in manufacturing in India
NA
- Briefly describe the various technologies and its suitable applications such as Central Inverter, String, Micro Inverter, 1500V, Outdoor, Container solutions etc..
Smart invertersGrowatt 5000MTL-Sare dual MPPT& single phase, maximum efficiency of 97.9%, natural cooling, as well as compact design with high power density, which leads to lighter weight and smaller size, easier for installation. The inverters are applicable for residential and small commercial roof solar power plants.
Three-phase solar inverter seriesGrowatt 8K-11KTL3-S are designed with maximum efficiency of 98.4% and MPPT efficiency 99.5%, as well as a wide DC voltage range of 160-1000VDC. The new inverter series provides a maximum DC/AC ratio of up to 1.2, and the 1.1 overload enables the system to be more flexible and maximizes the energy harvest.
Growatt 8K-11K TL3-S series features in high power density design, lighter weight and smaller size, easy for installation.Growatt 8K-11KTL3-S are applicable for Residential PV systems as well as with smaller-scale industrial and commercial PV systems.
Growatt SP1000/SP2000/SP3000 residential on-grid energy storage controller employs the latest all-digital control technology. It is a high efficient and compatible on-grid system with complete protective measures and high safety. SP1000-S/2000-S/3000-S has innovative characteristics as follows:
- Local graphic LCD @ four buttons, easy to operate
- Two MPPT built-in, compatible with dual MPPT inverter
- Flexible to charge battery by using off peak electricity from power grid
- How much is your R&D budget as % of your sales / profits
12% is our R&D budget as our sales/profits.
- What are the top 5 markets for your company in the past, present and future
China, Australia, UK, Italy ,Thailand are the top 5 markets for our company in the past, present, and the future.
- Technology road map in terms of 1500V , micro inverters, upcoming game changes technologies
we are planning on launching 1500V, 1MW inverter in 2017, with components in different sections of PV plant getting more and more mature, we believe the inverters with 1500V DC input will be more and more commonly used
- Kindly comment of Energy Storage as a game changer, its technology, cost trends…etc…
as the government subsidy is getting lower and lower, it’s more economic for solar plant owners to increase self-consumption level of solar energy, storage system is thus necessary. regarding existing PV plant facing low FIT, Growatt provide DC coupled charge controller SP1000-3000 series, it can cooperate with inverters from any supplier, very convenient for PV system upgrading
- Explain various guarantees, warrantees, insurance, certifications, test results, performance report of your inverters.
Growatt provide a full range of inverter in Indian market covering 1kW to 40kW for string inverters, and 500kW, 630kW, and 850kW for central inverters, the certificates includes IEC61727/62116, IEC62109, IEC61000, IEC60068/61683, IEC60529 etc, fully certified for Indian market
- Kindly highlight your product, technology & company USP’s, distinctive advantages etc…
Growatt 5000MTL-S are dual MPPT& single phase, maximum efficiency of 97.9%, natural cooling, as well as compact design with high power density, which leads to lighter weight and smaller size, easier for installation. Growatt 5000MTL-S sells quite well as the most cost-effective inverters since 2011 in the global market.
SPF5000 storage system is perfect for off-grid, backup power and self-consumption applications.
Growatt40000TL3-NSis designed for use in commercial application with Max.efficiency of 99%, wide input voltage range 200-1000V and leading IPM (intelligent power module).
The above products have passed TUV, CE test.
- Do you also bring financing solutions for your customers ?
NA
- Please share information of some new orders in hand.
NA
- What are the trends in new manufacturing technology equipment, materials, processes, innovations etc…
NA
- Whats your commitment towards the solar sector in India
Indian market is very important for Growatt, we are dedicated to provide inverter with excellent performance and also comprehensive services, currently we have set up office in Chennai, and also service center in Hyderabad, with local engineers we are able to provide our indian customer with fast and prompt services
- What will be the cost, technology trends in solar inverters
for utility grade power plant central inverter still take the major proportion, but as string inverters are getting bigger and bigger in capacity, it’s getting more and more popular to use string inverters in utility grade application, string inverters are easier for installation and maintenance, and also has more MPP trackers, it’s good to handle string inconsistency in some hillside PV array.
- Feel free to add/modify/delete any question.
