PV Inverter & Storage Scorecard – PVEL
Join us for a live interview with Michael Mills-Price, Head of PV Inverter and Battery Storage Business for PVEL. We will discuss the forthcoming Inverter and Storage Scorecard 2021 and look back at the 2019 Scorecard and see how PVEL’s testing program is evolving and including battery storage. PVEL has compiled this Scorecard to close the industry’s knowledge gap in inverter reliability and performance. PV inverter buyers can use this report to both better understand the products they source and to develop robust procurement strategies that ensure inverters meet quality and financial performance expectations.
Inverter performance is the most important driver of solar project profitability. When inverters fail, the entire system produces less energy – or none at all. Maintenance costs compound financial losses. Yet very few PV equipment buyers require independent testing that assesses inverter reliability and performance. Our collective requirements for inverter procurement lag far behind those for PV modules and
they are inconsistently enforced. Instead, as in the early days of unsophisticated PV module procurement, buyers rely on certifications, brand names, datasheets and warranties to evaluate inverter bankability. Field observations of inverter failure prove that this process does not identify problem products.
The challenge is that project stakeholders lack the institutional knowledge and data required for in-depth technical due diligence. Inverters are complex, multi-functional power electronics driven by sophisticated software. They optimize system-level power output, interface with the local utility grid, monitor and communicate energy production data, and even ensure PV systems shut down in unsafe conditions.
About Michael Mills-Price
Michael is an experienced solar PV technologist with > 15 years design, evaluation, and testing experience in alternative energy. Michael has proven technical and business relationship experience spanning many years across a diverse set of programs in the solar PV and energy storage industries. He is a registered Professional Engineer and holds a number of patents and publications in the field of renewable energy.
About PVEL
PV Evolution Labs (PVEL) is the leading reliability and performance testing lab for downstream solar project developers, financiers, and asset owners and operators around the world. With over ten years of experience and accumulated data, PVEL conducts testing that demonstrates solar technology bankability. Its trusted, independent reports replace assumptions about solar equipment performance with data-driven, quantifiable metrics that enable efficient solar project development and financing.
The PVEL network connects all major PV and storage manufacturers with 400+ global Downstream Partners representing 30+ gigawatts of annual buying power. PVEL’s mission is to support the worldwide PV downstream buyer community by generating data that accelerates adoption of solar technology. Learn more online at pvel.com.