What Challenges Solar Inverters Face

In 2017, the results of the national supervision and random inspection of the quality of China's photovoltaic grid-connected inverters were announced. This time, a total of 27 batches of photovoltaic grid-connected inverters produced by 27 companies in 5 provinces and municipalities including Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, and Guangdong were randomly inspected. Protection connection, touch current, power frequency withstand voltage of solid insulation, rated input and output, conversion efficiency, harmonic and waveform distortion, power factor, DC component, AC output side over/under voltage for photovoltaic grid-connected inverter products Nine items including protection were tested.

In 2017, the unqualified rate of solar inverters reached 22%

The results showed that 6 batches of products did not meet the requirements of the standard, involving rated input and output, conversion efficiency, harmonic and waveform distortion, power factor, DC component, AC output side over/under voltage protection items.

What is worrying is that 6 batches of the 27 batches of photovoltaic grid-connected inverters that were spot-checked were unqualified, and the product failure rate reached 22%, which was 10 percentage points higher than that in 2016. Although there were 6 batches of unqualified solar inverters in 2016, a total of 52 batches of photovoltaic grid-connected inverters were randomly checked, and the unqualified rate of products was 11.5%.

Annoying AC output side over/under voltage protection

According to the two-year spot check results, the solar inverters in 2016 are mainly two items of AC output side over/under voltage protection, harmonics and waveform distortion. In the past two years, the over/under voltage protection on the AC output side has become the most problematic item. So what function does this project refer to the inverter? Why does this project always go wrong?

It is understood that the so-called over-voltage/under-voltage protection on the AC output side means that when the photovoltaic power station supplies power to the grid through the grid-connected inverter, when it is detected that the voltage at the AC output terminal of the inverter exceeds (or falls below) the allowable voltage of the grid When the range is reached, the inverter will automatically disconnect the AC contactor, stop supplying power to the grid, and send out a warning signal at the same time. The role of this function of the inverter is obvious, that is, to ensure the safe power supply of the photovoltaic power station under the premise of ensuring the stability of the grid. For the power grid, the access of a large amount of power exceeding the allowable voltage range is likely to cause damage to the stability of the power grid. Due to the instability of the photovoltaic power station itself, the performance of the overvoltage/undervoltage protection on the AC output side of the inverter determines the grid friendliness of photovoltaic power generation, and its importance is self-evident.

Solar Energy in East Asia Lower Than Natural Gas Power Generation

According to an article son the CarbonBrief website, the vast majority of East Asia's current 141 GW of planned natural gas power generation capacity is located in two countries, namely China (93 GW) and South Korea (20 GW). At the same time, both countries have pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century, with South Korea aiming for 2050 and China aiming to be "carbon neutral" by 2060.

The relative competitiveness of electricity relative to natural gas and renewables has changed significantly as the cost of wind, solar and storage continues to plummet and international gas prices have soared over the past 12 months. An analysis by think tank TransitionZero compares these alternatives based on the levelized cost of electricity generation (LCOE), which is defined as "the average total cost of building and operating a power plant per unit of electricity generated over its lifetime."

The analysis shows that in South Korea, the LCOE for solar plus storage is currently $120/MWh, while the LCOE for natural gas is $134/MWh. For China, TransitionZero analysis shows that onshore wind with energy storage currently costs $73/MWh compared to $79/MWh for natural gas. Its figures suggest that solar with energy storage will also be cheaper than natural gas generation by next year.

This presents an opportunity for countries like China and South Korea to avoid massive construction of gas-fired power plants and leapfrog to cheaper renewable energy.

10-year Rise of China's Photovoltaic Industry - Transformation (II)

 Ten years of transformation: from subsidies to parity

In the past ten years, the photovoltaic industry is gradually getting rid of its dependence on policies and subsidies while pursuing technological progress. Amazing transformation.

May 31, 2018, was undoubtedly a watershed in this historical transformation. On this day, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the "Notice on Matters Related to Photovoltaic Power Generation in 2018" (called "531 New Deal" in the industry), reducing the scale of photovoltaic power generation in the second half of the year to one-third of the original. One or less, and requires immediate implementation on June 1. The intensity and speed of policy subsidy reduction far exceeded expectations, forming an unprecedented impact on the photovoltaic industry at that time.

Prior to this, benchmark electricity prices and gradually decreasing subsidy intensity effectively supported the large-scale development of the industry, but at the same time, higher on-grid electricity prices and power generation costs also restricted the further development of the photovoltaic industry. In 2017, the average on-grid price of photovoltaics was still as high as 0.94 yuan/kWh, and the power generation cost was also 0.5-0.65 yuan/kWh. Compared with other forms of power generation, the price was not competitive.

10-year Rise of China's Photovoltaic Industry - Technology Driven! (I)

Not long ago, Wang Zhigang, Minister of Science and Technology, at a series of press conferences on the theme of "China's Decade", introduced that among China's scientific and technological innovation achievements in the past decade, solar photovoltaic is impressively listed, and it is an industry that ranks among the top in the world.

It took less than 10 years for China's photovoltaics to go from "three heads out" and being controlled by others, to firmly occupying the top spot in the world's photovoltaic industry and becoming China's business card in the new era. 10 years may not be too long for the development of an industry, but it means a lot of stories and experiences for the emerging industry of photovoltaics.

Among them, technological innovation is an important force that cannot be ignored.

Ten Years of  Photovoltaic Tackling: From Being Controlled to Leading the World

Time goes back to 2012. The end of the world predicted by the Mayans did not come true. However, for the newly emerging Chinese photovoltaic industry, the "double-reverse" in Europe and the United States was a big stick, but all practitioners experienced a real experience. A thrilling "Doomsday Crisis".

2022 World Solar Photovoltaic Industry Expo kicks off in Guangzhou

 On August 9th, the 2022 World Solar Photovoltaic Expo was grandly opened in Area A of the Guangzhou China Import and Export Fair Complex! At the expo, leading enterprises in the photovoltaic industry from all over the country gathered at the exhibition site. From upstream manufacturers to downstream professional buyers and distributors, the entire photovoltaic industry chain actively responded to the goal of carbon peaking, and jointly promoted the integration of industry resources and complementary advantages. Strive to develop a new photovoltaic energy track, and help major business enterprises to cooperate in trade.

At present, the solar photovoltaic industry, as an important part of green and low-carbon energy, is ushering in a new stage of development. In order to accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, promote the green transformation of development methods, and promote the green transformation of key industries and fields, driven by the "dual carbon" strategic goal, the 2022 World Solar Photovoltaic Industry Expo is working with photovoltaics represented by distributed photovoltaics. The elite brands of new business forms such as the diversified layout of power generation have gathered energy and gathered momentum, bringing huge incremental space for the entire photovoltaic industry, creating greater green energy benefits, and jointly promoting the high-quality development of the industry.

China PV industry's leapfrog development

The development of China's renewable resources industry has greatly supported the global response to climate change, which reflects the responsibility and mission of a major country.

In recent years, the Chinese government has gradually put forward a new energy security strategy, implemented the energy revolution strategy, promoted energy consumption, supply, technology and institutional revolution, and promoted all-round foreign energy cooperation. The goal is to build a safe, efficient, green, clean and low-carbon modern energy system.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, a series of major plans and policies in China's energy sector have been introduced intensively, forming a strategic planning system for promoting the energy revolution.

In recent years, the development and utilization of photovoltaics in China has accelerated significantly. The new infrastructure in the low-carbon field represented by photovoltaics is a balance point between short-term stable growth and medium- and long-term economic restructuring, and it is also an important direction for the current stable growth policy.

1. China PV Rapid development: beyond imagination

In the past ten years, China's photovoltaic power generation capacity has ranked first in the world, forming a relatively complete photovoltaic technology industry system, making important contributions to the construction of ecological civilization.

Looking back on history, we can witness the glory.

(1) The solar industry scale continues to expand

The development of China's photovoltaic industry has undergone tremendous changes, and the vivid figures tell people that the photovoltaic industry is indeed growing at an unimaginable speed.

In 2012, China's polycrystalline production was 70,000 tons, and in 2021, the output will increase to 505,000 tons, 7.2 times that of 10 years ago.

In 2012, China produced 23 gigawatts of solar cells, and in 2021, production will grow to 198 gigawatts, 8.6 times that of 10 years ago.

In 2012, China's newly installed solar capacity was 4.5 GW, and in 2021, 54.88 GW will be installed, which is 12.2 times that of 10 years ago.

In 2012, the cumulative installed capacity of solar power in China was 8 GW, and the cumulative installed capacity in 2021 is 300 GW, which is 37.5 times that of 10 years ago.

 …

The global solar industry is booming

 The Austrian "News" reported on July 19 that in the context of the energy crisis in which the global energy consumption continues to rise, especially in emerging countries, and Europe is actively seeking alternative sources of Russian oil and natural gas, renewable energy industries such as solar energy and wind energy are booming. According to statistics, renewable energy will account for nearly 13% of electricity generation in 2021. In June, EU energy ministers agreed to increase the proportion of renewable energy to 40% by 2030. Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden announced in early June a two-year tariff reduction for solar modules in four Southeast Asian countries, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, but China was not on the list. In 2020, nearly 90 percent of U.S. solar modules were imported, most of which came from Southeast Asia.

According to the International Energy Agency, China's solar panel manufacturing share is over 80%. In 2021, China's photovoltaic capacity will be 327 TWh, ranking first in the world, followed by the United States with a production capacity of 165 TWh. China's JinkoSolar, the largest player in China's solar energy industry, signed a framework agreement with Germany's Memodo in May to provide it with energy storage solutions in German-speaking countries.

China's photovoltaic industry leads the global market

The website of the Austrian Courier newspaper reported on July 7 that the International Energy Agency (IEA) report pointed out that China’s share of the global solar module market has exceeded 80%. Euro), ten times that of Europe, and the top ten leading PV companies are all located in China. IEA Secretary-General Fatih Birol said that China's large-scale investment has reduced the global cost of photovoltaic power generation by 80%, but it has also caused a high degree of dependence. The high geographical concentration of the global supply chain poses potential challenges. According to the current investment, China will It will soon reach 95% market share in key raw materials, especially raw material polycrystalline, which is currently in short supply.

According to IEA estimates, in order to achieve the goal of renewable energy transition, solar panel production capacity needs to double by 2030, new investment in the industry will reach 120 billion US dollars, and the number of employees will double to 1 million. If the rest of the world invests more and broadens supply chains, it will bring greater opportunities.