The German world leader for an essential component of solar power systems announced that it has commissioned the world’s largest solar inverter factory in Kassel, Germany that it said is also “CO2 neutral” in operations.

With the new production plant, occupying 193,000 square feet, SMA Solar Technology AG said it is now capable of producing inverters that can process up to four gigawatts of electricity annually.

An inverter is a device that converts direct current or DC electricity to alternating current or AC, which is the kind produced by generators run by coal-fired steam turbines. AC is the kind of electricity that runs in households, so solar panels cannot be used at home without inverters.

“The new manufacturing plant... will allow SMA and its subsidiaries to match industry growth and global demand for its solar inverters,” said Jurgen Krehnke, president and general manager of SMA America, SMA’s US subsidiary.

SMA said it is also scaling up its production to strategically meet demand for its solar inverters. Additionally, SMA claims that its new plant will be “CO2 neutral,” which means that it consumes only as much electricity as it produces, without sourcing mainly from the power grid.

SMA said the new plant sources its electricity from a building-integrated 1.1-MW PV system and an on-site biogas plant, among other improvements.


- Eric Dorente

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