{"id":219165,"date":"2025-01-06T22:01:31","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T21:01:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/?p=219165"},"modified":"2025-01-06T22:04:30","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T21:04:30","slug":"solar-chat-spotlight-market-trends-customer-challenges-and-smas-impact-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/solar-chat-spotlight-market-trends-customer-challenges-and-smas-impact-in-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Solar Chat: Frank Berring Anticipates 2025 Market Trends and SMA’s Proactive Innovations"},"content":{"rendered":"

As <\/span>we welcom<\/span>e<\/span> 2025<\/span>,<\/span> it\u2019<\/span>s<\/span> the perfect moment to analyze the trends shaping the U.S. <\/span>large scale <\/span>energy market and how these developments have<\/span> impacte<\/span>d<\/span> both our customers and SMA America. <\/span>From the accelerating adoption of <\/span>utility<\/span> scale <\/span>renewables and energy storage to evolving regulatory landscapes, the energy transition has gained remarkable momentum. At the same time,<\/span> it\u2019<\/span>s<\/span> clear that challenges like grid stability and market complexity require innovative, forward-thinking solutions.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I sat down with Frank Berring, Head of Business Development for Large Scale at SMA America.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

TM<\/span><\/b>:<\/span><\/i><\/b> Now that 2024 has drawn to a close, what key trends have you observed in the U.S. large scale division market in this last year, and how do you see those trends impacting our customers’ experiences and aligning with SMA\u2019s value proposition?<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

FB: <\/span><\/b>That\u2019s maybe the perfect question Trish. It\u2019s critical to our success that our customers see value in everything we do, and that in the end, it\u2019s our customers\u2019 success that enables our own. 2024 was maybe not the beginning of the major market trends I see, but it was certainly a year of real action towards addressing the challenges presented by those trends. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with recognizing that renewables-based generation has incredible momentum within the energy markets, and with the scaling of energy storage solutions, most stakeholders are deeply supportive of broad deployment of renewables \u2013 and it shows! Looking into the backlog of interconnection applications, you\u2019ll find almost all new generator applications are for renewables.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

TM: <\/span><\/i><\/b>We will continue to watch<\/span><\/i> renewables-based generation and its momentum within the energy markets. What other trends did you see in 2024, that maybe accompanied the first?<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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FB: <\/span><\/i><\/b>The simultaneous retirement of fossil fuel-based generators, and growth of inverter-based resources (IBRs) presents significant risk to bulk power system reliability. Stability services, which I\u2019ll just broadly define as the nearly instantaneous active or reactive power responses to deviations in the grid\u2019s frequency or voltage, are becoming an area of concern, since those services are historically, provided by synchronous generators in the network. We\u2019re seeing a lot of retirements, or planned retirements, of those assets. So, IBRs need to step in to fill that void.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The good news is that these stability services can be provided by Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) with Grid Forming inverter controls, which are likely to be mandated (to some degree) by System Operators in the near future. SMA\u2019s grid forming BESS solutions are already commercially available, fully compliant with emerging functional requirements, and highly flexible to provide specific stability services needed for projects.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

TM<\/span><\/i><\/b>: And is it correct, that this has some rather broad implications on the regulatory side of the market?<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

FB:<\/span><\/b> Absolutely Trish, the evolution of regulatory requirements would be a second major trend getting a lot of focus from the industry. <\/span>When grid reliability is at risk, <\/span>FERC <\/span>and<\/span> NERC<\/span> take action – such as <\/span>FERC Order 901 as a prominent example -w<\/span>hich often requires changes to both how existing assets are operated, and processes or requirements for interconnecting new ones. This has increased market complexity\u2014and risk\u2014for our customers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SMA\u2019s anticipated these challenges, and thus we\u2019re prepared to deliver new kinds of value-add services to our customers, such as advanced electromagnetic transient modeling, grid forming plant design support, hardware-in-the-loop testing, battery management system integration, and innovative plant control solutions just to name a few. While SMA is renowned for premium power conversion hardware, we now provide end-to-end solutions, helping customers optimize and de-risk projects from development to operation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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TM:<\/span><\/i><\/b> Are there any other factors you see impacting the energy transition, particularly in large scale applications?<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

FB:<\/span><\/b> Well, we can\u2019t talk about market trends without discussing the scaling of BESS. Although BESS isn\u2019t new, it\u2019s now nearly ubiquitous in renewable generation applications, and developers are only getting started in capitalizing on it\u2019s unique revenue stacking opportunities. For example, co-locating BESS enables renewable plants, like PV systems, to function as dispatchable generators, aligning seamlessly with market and system planning frameworks. Looking ahead to 2025, DC-coupled hybrid plants are a trend to watch. SMA offers the most integrated DC-coupled solution on the market, and its added value is poised to drive further adoption in the coming years.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

TM: <\/span><\/i><\/b>It sounds like SMA is very well positioned to provide high value solutions to our customers, especially the developer community, in the context of all those market trends and challenges. Can you give some insights into what SMA does \u201cbehind the scenes\u201d to deliver products and services which are well aligned to market needs?<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

FB:<\/span><\/b> We\u2019re proud of SMA\u2019s leadership in shaping the energy market and solving challenges that drive the renewable transition. Rather than reacting to industry changes, SMA actively works to define them through collaboration with key organizations.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2024, we engaged more deeply with bulk power industry groups than ever before:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n