Impact on Indian market of epidemic- COVID-19 and 2020 market outlook

2020-02-18

With the increasing maturity of inverter and module technologies, more and more people turn their eyes to solar power. Inverter market continues to grow every single year as well! Global solar installations are expected to reach 142 gigawatts (GW) in 2020,14% rise over the previous year. As reported, more than 10 GW of new generation capacity will be deployed in this year.And, India is undoubtedly amongst the better-performing countries with over 300 operational solar firms. Sineng is expecting a large pipeline of projects to spur the return to growth from two “flat” years- 2018 and 2019. But it is also predicted that 3 giga watt (GW) of projects（auctioned between July and August, 2018）worth ₹16,000 crore could be at risk of penalties for missing completion deadline due to current COVID-19 impact. However, ‘Force Majeure’ clause can invoked in order to seek relief under this unforeseen and uncontrollable epidemic -to justify the delay-yet to be faced legal and regulatory hurdles. On the other hand, tenders are to be delayed and it will be hard to meet the expected capacity in the first quarter of 2020. Nevertheless, Epidemic situation is already under control thanks to China’s massive response to the outbreak. Sineng has already started manufacturing and resume its normal operation after spring festival vacation. In a nutshell, there will be no major impacts on solar industry due to the flu epidemic considering whole year-2020.

Inverter market trends in India and choice of inverter

Top 10 inverter suppliers are accounted for around 75% of shipments in 2019 globally and 94% in India.Based on last past five years inverter market share, the market for utility scale solar projects in India is dominated by central inverter. ‘The bigger, the better’ seems to be the mantra-owing to the reason that price on inverter depends on its power capacity. Sineng central 3.125 MW inverter was developed for large utility-scale application scenario and it has been dominating Indian market.

Choosing right inverter can be a game of inches. By that, I mean the difference between a jackpot machine and one that loses money is just a few rankings. To squeeze out those extra rankings, Sineng pay attention to tons of tiny details what most inverter manufacture miss while developing a product.

Sineng inverters are global inverters for a reason-wisely and strategically designed. 

Compatible with state-of-the-art technologies

It is expected by Konstanz that optimum LCOE will be achieved by 2021/2022 using tracker system (single axis or multi axis) along with bifacial module. These technologies need inverter to be operated at full-load and overload in respect to generate more power. Well, it is not an uphill task for Sineng central 3.125 MW inverter as it can run at full load for a long time attributing to reliable and robust components selection with advanced design. It also features overload capacity of 115% for a longer period. 3.125MW is a global product in compliance with both IEC and CEA standards.

Cost effective-optimum LCOE

Bigger block size is a great way to reduce LCOE, but it has its challenges which can easily be solved with Sineng 3.125MW! It is suitable for large ground mounted PV plants with large block size of 3.125 MW,6.25MW or 12.5MW. In addition, skid or integrated solution 6.25 is also available which consists of 2*3.125MW outdoor inverters, SF6 switchgear, 6.25MW double split transformer and LV distribution & communication cabinet. CAPEX study shows that Sineng 3.125MW saves cents $/Wp as compared to other top five brand’s string inverter which is much more distinctive with skid solution.

Adapt to Harsh Environments

There’s nothing worse for plant owner than inverter that can’t adapt with harsh environment as plants are often situated in harsh environment like hilly, coastal and desert areas. For that, the major challenges need to be dealt with are temperature, ingress protection and corrosion protection. Forced air cooling is adopted in 3.125MW as the heat dissipation method which is better than natural cooling method on account of lowering internal temperature. Moreover, The two-phase heat exchanger is applied to key components compartment. The inner compartment is not directly exposed to top air inlet as it is totally sealed and separated, so sand and dust can’t enter the compartment. Thus, it provides IP65 for key component compartment. 3.125MW adapts C4 or C5 corrosion protection both solution which makes it ideal for applications in coastal, chemical industrial and other typical harsh areas.

Smart monitoring and controlling-saves time and hassle

Problems come up on power plant all the time. What matters is how fast you respond to them. That’s why Sineng provides a complete monitoring and controlling solution which includes smart communication box -SAU100, local SCADA, sienergy cloud -remote SCADA, inacess PPC (Power Plant Controller). Operator could use it to figure out in real time if there is any abnormality in power generation of any inverter which saves time and hassle of O & M.

Reliability and something more!

Providing reliability in inverter market is a game of margin. Which is not exactly easy! To ensure high PR ratio, Sineng inverter is equipped with all kinds of protection what a plant owner would wish for.

· Least discussed but considerably large amount of cases due to fire hazard. Sineng inverter features arc-fault detection device (AFDD) and smoke detector.

· Class II and III protection device to protect the inverter from lightning strikes and any other surges.

· Fan rotation speed is controlled according to the sensed temperature by temperature sensor. The fan control is thermostatic.

· Each DC input of the inverter is equipped with hall sensors. The current, voltage and power of each combiner box can be observed from the monitoring system or the inverter display.

· 3.125 MW characterizes load ration up to 1.5 for wide time window. It indicates that inverter can generate more power during low irradiance.

·  Negative grounding method allows to mitigate PID effect.

· SVG functionality provides fast-acting reactive power to grid- adjustable from +0.8 to -0.8.

About Sineng Electric

Sineng Electric is a leading global high-tech enterprise specialized in renewables and has been pioneering inverter market with enormous amount of worldwide installed inverters as of 2019. Being a “one stop solution provider” for solar inverters and energy storage, we have a broad product portfolio to meet the diversified needs of customers for residential, C&I and utility -scale applications. To ensure state-of-the-art technology and reliable products, the company possesses in-house testing center and a dynamic R & D team which has been acquired from fortune 500 company. As a product-focused company, Sineng always looks at its offerings and there is a zeal in us to make products and service betters.