Inverters

PV inverter manufacturer KACO new energy has opened a sales and support office in Tokyo, Japan, to support its business growth in the country.

Diehl Controls, a subgroup of Germany's Diehl Group, has sold its photovoltaics business unit to mutares Solar, a subsidiary of Munichs investment company mutares.

PV inverter sales at Advanced Energy (AE) remained strong in the fourth quarter of 2012 at US$59.6 million, down only 1.8% from US$60.7 million reported in the third quarter of 2012.

PV inverter specialist, Power-One reported fourth quarter revenue of US$192 million, within revised guidance but sales declined 32% in Europe, forcing the company to adjust production to demand with the planned loss of 300 jobs.

Enphase Energy is to begin selling its microinverter system to the Australian solar market from February this year.

Weaker than expected demand in key markets of Italy and Germany in the fourth quarter has led PV inverter supplier Power-One to lower revenue guidance to between US$190 million to US$195 million, down from a range of US$210 million to US$230 million.

SMA Solar has entered the fast growing Chinese market by acquiring a majority stake in China-based start-up Jiangsu Zeversolar New Energy.

Power-One, an inverter manufacturer, and module manufacturer Phono Solar signed a strategic alliance to market and sell PV systems using their respective technologies.

Energy management company Schneider Electric has secured over 100MW worth of projects in India with its new Conext Core XC Inverter in the three months since its launch.

Utility-scale PV inverter specialist Advanced Energy Industries (AE) has reported record sales of US$60.7 million in Q3 2012, fuelled by growing demand from the North American large-scale commercial and utility markets.