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Life tests increase the reliability of PV inverters

Wolfram Dege destroys inverters for a living – and helps to make them better in the process. To do so, he puts the devices under high stress and induces artificial aging. He really puts the inverters through the wringer, using cold, heat, moisture and high currents and voltages – ideally all at once. This gives him valuable information about service life. Read on to find out more about his life-prolonging work and his favorite test.

Agrivoltaics: Blue-green model for the future

Agrivoltaics is a blue-green glimmer of hope in an era of climate change. It refers to the simultaneous use of an area for agricultural production and the generation of electricity from photovoltaics. Until now, agricultural land and ground-based PV systems have mostly existed separately. Anyone who purposefully combines the two forms of land use can benefit from positive effects.

by Birgit Scheuch (guest post), , 2 Comments

New training concept for central inverter maintenance

It's all in the mix: In the new "blended learning" format, the SMA Solar Academy is now combining digital and analog maintenance training for the Sunny Central and Sunny Central Storage central inverters. There are only two days of classroom training at the Solar Academy. Prior to that, the theory will be provided on four half days as remote training. "This is more flexible, fits better into everyday work and family life, and the participants save on accommodation costs," says Academy trainer Jan Rössler.

Women at SMA: meet Danielle

Danielle talks about starting her career in the solar industry

One of the fastest growing job markets, working in the renewables industry is good for you and the planet. Increasingly, people are turning to a career in solar energy at various stages of their professional lives. But is everyone suited to solar? We speak to Danielle Budd, SMA UK’s Logistics Coordinator. Danielle joined SMA at the beginning of her career in solar energy – now after three years with SMA, find out how she finds working in the renewables sector and what she’s learning from the team.

by Kate Scorer (guest post), , 2 Comments

Safety of PV systems: Your questions, our answers

The safety of a PV system depends, among other things, on the design of the overall system. Modern string inverters with integrated features enable a slim system design. This avoids potential sources of error, for example through additional cabling effort when installing module electronics. In a webinar "Analyzing PV system safety and the promise of optimizers" in June 2022, Dr. Heribert Schmidt from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and SMA expert Hannes Knopf discussed the influence of different system designs on the safety of PV systems. Afterwards we received so many exciting questions on the topic, which we would like to share with you. Our colleague Hannes Knopf answered the most frequently asked questions here.

SMA Sarika Agarwal

Sarika on the impact of her own work and more women at SMA

Sarika Agarwal has been working at SMA Sunbelt for five years. The subsidiary of SMA was founded in 2014 and focuses on innovative off-grid, hybrid, and battery-based projects with a focus on the Sunbelt regions (Africa, Central America and Caribbean, Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Pacific). As a System Development Engineer, Sarika is now a battery specialist. She tells us in an interview how she came to SMA and why she is so motivated by working on the energy transition.

City with stable energy supply lighted at night.

Grid stability and secure returns with renewable energies

The energy transition will succeed only if the majority of our electricity is generated from renewable energy sources. But these are subject to weather-dependent fluctuations. The SMA Energy System for battery-storage power plants provides grid-forming capability, which is currently provided by decentralized power plants, and feeds green electricity with a stable frequency into the utility grid. This turns power plant owners and operators into key players on the electricity market.

by Daniel Duckwitz (guest post), , 0 Comments