Solar energy equipment manufacturers bet on recovery and increase manufacturing capacity

Even amid the coronavirus pandemic, the photovoltaic energy market remains strong and companies are increasingly increasing their manufacturing capacity. Solis, a manufacturer of string inverters, is expected to double its production capacity to 20 GW per year, and Solar Group, a manufacturer of photovoltaic module fixing structures, will invest R$19 million in a new plant that will be built in the state from São Paulo.

In the case of Solis, for example, it announced plans to raise more than US$100 million through a non-public offering to finance the expansion of its manufacturing capacity. This addition will allow the company to increase its offering for solar storage projects and customers around the world.

“Demand for our Solis inverters drove this effort to double our capacity. We are seeing an increase in demand for string inverters over other technologies due to their competitiveness in cost and reliability. This doubling of our production represents an exciting milestone for Solis,” said Yiming Wang, president of Solis.

According to the company, the expansion would also allow the annual production of 400 sets of string-type energy storage inverters connected to the grid. “In addition, we will be able to build a new corporate campus and R&D and testing facilities, which will add more than 500 new jobs to the Solis team, bringing in new talent and ideas to drive innovation and growth,” Wang added.

More investments

Following this growth curve, Solar Group is also increasing its manufacturing capacity. According to Ronaldo Koloszuk, director of the company, an investment of R$19 million will be made in a new plant in Santana do Parnaíba, a municipality in the state of São Paulo.

 “We currently have a plant with six thousand square meters of production area in Itapevi-SP. Now, we are going to open an area of ​​10 thousand square meters in Santana do Parnaíba, which will allow us to quadruple our production to continue serving the sector well”, says Koloszuk.

According to him, the company is making this investment because they believe that the market will continue to grow. “Solar Group believes that the solar sector in Brazil and around the world will experience strong expansion in the coming decades. All consultancies, like BloombergNEF, that make forecasts point to this. At this moment, the photovoltaic market is paused, like everyone else, due to the economy. After that, it will continue to expand in the coming years.”

Also according to Koloszuk, Solar Group should reach 1 GW of structures sold in Brazil. “Our premise is to serve the integrator and distributor. We understand that technical service and fast delivery are very important. We decided to carry out a major expansion, as we are well structured for this recovery and always serving our customers quickly”, he concluded.