Monday, October 11, 2010

Grape Solar Links With Chinese Inverter Firm

Eugene, Oregon-based Grape Solar, a manufacturer of photovoltaic (PV) modules, said today that it has entered into a strategic supply agreement with Sungrow Canada, A joint venture owned by Chinese firm Sungrow Power Supply Co. Ltd. According to Grape Solar, Sungrow will provide it with its solar inverter products. Grape Solar said it has agreed to purchase 10MW of Sungrow's 3kw, 4kw, and 5kw residential inverters at favorable pricing, and 30MW of Sungrow's 100kw, 250kw, and 500kw commercial inverters. Grape Solar said the inverters being sourced from Sungrow Power Supply will meet the Ontario Power Authority's local content requirements, and will be made in Ontario.

The effort is part of a rush to meet requirements for Ontario's Feed-in-Tariff program, which promises huge subsidies for people and companies willing to install solar power. Ontario's program promises to pay anywhere from 44.3 cents to 80.2 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity production, far above the average cost of electricity in Canada. The Canadian Electricity Association said that the average cost per kwH of electricity in Canada in 2009 was 10.82 cents.

Sungrow's solar inverters are used to convert the direct current (DC) power that is generated by photovoltaic panels into alternating current (AC) power usable by households and businesses.

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