ABB, which already produces solar inverters in Estonia, India and China and recently announced it is buying US inverter manufacturer Power-One Inc, will produce its PVS800 range of central inverters in South Africa. With a production capacity of approximately 500MW a year in South Africa, it will produce 630kW, 875 kW and 1000kW central inverters, it said.

As a producer of power converters, ABB has a long-established presence in South Africa, now one of the world’s fastest-growing PV solar markets. Since installing its first two 500kW PV solar projects near Johannesburg in 2011, ABB  has gained a delivery pipeline of approximately 90MW of central inverters.

“The region’s energy needs are set to grow with economic expansion and with South Africa looking to benefit from its abundance of sunshine we will be in an even better position to serve our local customers,” commented  Ulrich Spiesshofer, head of ABB’s Discrete Automation and Motion division.

The ABB central inverter series, rated from 100 to1000kW, is designed for multi-megawatt PV power plants and is based on the company's frequency converter platform.

Are you interested in Inverters? Check out our 3-part explainer here...