Power and automation technology group, ABB has opened its first production line for solar string inverters and an engineering center in Jüri, Estonia.
The new production line, opened to meet growing long-term demand for solar-power technology, has a reported yearly capacity of 400 megawatt and can be expanded to meet the growing long-term demand for solar inverters when required.
The engineering center supports the solar inverter business as well as the motors and drives factories that are based at the same location.
The company believes that solar energy will be used increasingly in its energy mix to reduce the effects of power generation on climate change and expects that production volumes in its Jüri plant will grow steadily in the long term, according to ABB’s discrete automation and motion division head, Ulrich Spiesshofer.
In addition to its new solar inverter production line, ABB has also invested in a new solar plant in Estonia.
The new plant has a capacity of 25 kilowatt and is reportedly the largest solar installation mounted on the roof of a building in the country. The plant will be used mainly for testing and demonstration purposes in conjunction with the new production line.
ABB states that each inverter is tested and its efficiency measured before it leaves the factory to ensure correct specifications and quality requirements.
Solar inverters convert the direct current generated by photovoltaic cells into alternating current that can be fed into the grid and are key components in an energy infrastructure that harnesses the power of the sun.
The inverters produced in Estonia are considered to be string inverters used in residential and commercial roof top applications.
Spiesshofer said the high-tech production hub in Estonia and its highly-skilled technological workforce make the country an excellent supply base for ABB.
ABB has been operating in Estonia since 1992. The company employs 1,130 staff at four production sites. Estonia is one of three bases for ABB’s global feeder factories for wind power generators.
Image: ABB opens new production line for solar inverters and engineering center in Estonia.