ABB plans to open a production line for solar inverters at its manufacturing facilities in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2014. The company says the operation is intended to support the burgeoning market for PV systems in the region.
According to the company, the new line will produce its PVS800 range of central inverters and is expected to have a production capacity of approximately 500 MW a year. The facility will also produce 630 kW, 875 kW and 1,000 kW inverters.
ABB installed its first two 500 kW PV solar projects near Johannesburg in 2011, and the company says it has since gained a delivery pipeline of approximately 90 MW 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,’ says Ulrich Spiesshofer, head of ABB's Discrete Automation and Motion division.
ABB currently produces solar inverters in Estonia, India and China.
