1. Please tell us about your recent inverter shipments and future target.
Our shipments to India are now reaching around 1GW+. The first quarter of CY 2021 has been good, It has achieved rapid growth compared with the same period last year. According to the research report, India’s installed capacity in 2020 is 4.6 GW, the estimated installation capacity in 2021 is 12.5 GW. The industry growth rate of around 50 %. We expect our growth rate is not below the industry average.
2. How is the present inverter scenario with respect to pricing.
On the pricing front we have to take the following phenomenon going globally.
- Shortage of IC chips which is creating major hurdles, this is not just for solar but for every sector
- Price of IGBT is Increased
- Major commodities like Copper and Aluminum are also on the rise.
- Container shortage is also translating into higher freight cost.
All these scenarios are putting tremendous pressure on the inverter rates. The rates of few suppliers in China have already increased and I won’t be surprised if the same would translate to other parts of the world.
3. What do you have to say about the BIS and BCD tariff barrier?
BIS is a good step by MNRE towards Indian standards of inverter segment. We take pride to declare that all the eligible inverter ratings supplied by Solis are BIS certified. This increases the confidence of customers and they can well correlate our quality and our offering.
Increase in BCD Tariff barrier is not favorable at this point of time due high targets, PPA Rates and also present situation of developers. Having said that, we also have to see that present solar inverter manufacturing is in its infant stage notably in India hence in the short term this would have an impact on the deployment of solar projects as well as the PPAs.
4. What is your opinion on India’s inverter industry?
An industry needs to grow healthfully and rapidly, and it should be open. The environment of open competition is more conducive to technological innovation and industrial chain cluster development. Currently, in the global ranking of inverters, China’s intelligently made inverters lead the world in terms of design level, reliability and intelligent manufacturing. Companies are still trying to figure out some conducive business model in the present policy. Manufacturing related single window clearance and policy clarity being the first go ahead for such schemes.
Supply chain for the support components need to be developed and attracted parallelly. Import duty on such components should be eased.
PBAs for solar inverters should be brought under the same tariffs as mobile phones.
5. What are the basic technology requirements for inverter products?
If you consider the present situation people are opting for more robust and advanced technology products. These products should have minimum interference and with the advent of AI and Machine learning systems should adopt the grid as well as common faults. This helps us in better O&M and consecutively result in better LCOE.
6. What are your views on the present Indian solar market?
Industry is having tremendous opportunities as the world is more concerned about the future and climate change which was earlier only talked about at International arenas. People are more aware about the disasters and benefits for green energy. Certainly, this will have a positive impact on the overall industry towards the motivation and sentiments.
Challenges are minor like the clarity on the policy and high import tariff. State Governments Agencies should also have better policy replication as per the guidelines of MNRE.
7. What support do you need from the Government of India on the policy front?
GOI has done a good job by their continued support for the industry, regular feedback are taken from us. Certainly some points as I have mentioned earlier regarding the transparency and clarity can boost the sector to new horizons.
8. What would be the effect of Covid on the projects?
Projects have a lifetime of 25 years and developers are well aware about the long term goals. Pandemic would have certain constraints in the short term but would overcome by the time.
9. According to you, what are the points of action for developers?
Recent rise in the rates for modules, structural cost due to rise in commodity pricing and price hike of Solar inverters in China market shall be something developers have to take into account. Hedging this uncertainty to the best possible level should be on priority.
10. How has the performance of your inverters been with regard to customer satisfaction?
We are pioneers in introducing the multiple MPPT inverters in early 2016. Through the trust of EPCs and developers now these inverters are giving better returns as compared to normal string inverters.
Customers’ feedback is very important for our own internal assessment and improvements in the product. As on date all the customers are satisfied and through this satisfaction level we earn the repeat orders from them.
11. Your current projects?
We are proud and obliged to serve all the major players in the Indian Solar market. Many well-known companies are using Solis for their prestigious projects. Few projects like DMRC, IIT Kanpur, IIT Delhi, IGI Airport, TATA Motors, Andaman & Nicobar and many more which are powered using solis inverters.
12. Could you give us a background and key highlights of your company?
Established in 2005, Ginlong Technologies (Stock Code: 300763.SZ) is one of the most experienced and largest manufacturers of solar inverters.
Ginlong’s cost-effective solutions for residential, commercial, and utility-scale users deliver value at every level of the solar supply chain, engaging both homeowners and businesses, as well as power producers and renewable energy investors across the globe.
Presented under the Solis brand, the company’s solar inverter product line uses innovative string technology to deliver first-class reliability, validated under the most stringent international certifications.
Combining a global supply chain with world-class R&D and manufacturing capabilities, Ginlong optimizes its Solis inverters for each regional market, servicing and supporting its customers with its team of local experts.
Proven bankability has attracted support from world leading financial institutions, ensuring solid long-term returns on investment. Working with stakeholders to accelerate the world’s journey towards a more sustainable future.
13. What has been your production capacity and growth like?
Soon we’ll be having 20GW of production capacity which is currently 10GW. There has been substantial growth as compared to last year Q1. Revenues have been consistently increasing, last year around 340M USD sales have been done which is expected to be around M USD. This adds up to have our total installation base to 20GW+ globally.
14. Your views on manufacturing in India?
We are positive to have manufacturing in India. The talks are in the right direction but very early to comment on details at this point of time.
15. What are some key features of your inverters?
Our new 255kW – String inverter is the second product in 1500V after 125k which was launched last year. The performance and reliability of both the products in this segment is tremendous. These products are not only advanced in technology but are also giving tough competition to central inverters. Developers are now interested more towards future ready solutions with advanced monitoring control. This micro controlling and monitoring are difficult in the central inverter design.
At present we have supplied more than 70MW+ from which 50% is already commissioned and rest is in commissioning stage. Generation figures for plants already commissioned have been outstanding.
16. How important is R&D at Solis?
Solis has always put innovation and development as its starting point, and continuously improved its ability to respond to domestic and foreign market demands. R&D investment in 2020 increased by more than 100% year on year.
17. Your top markets globally?
Europe, USA,Southeast Asia, Australia, Latin America and so on
18. What is your view on energy storage and related inverters?
We are keen and have a strategic view regarding storage. Recently we have introduced two products. First is in the Residential and commercial segment where we have launched lead acid compatible hybrid inverters from 3kW to 5kW and from 5kW to 10kW High Voltage for certain countries. The increase in the demand shall put some corrections in the rates of Hybrid inverters.
19. How do you ensure good service at Solis?
We are currently offering 5 years standard warranty which can be extendable in 5 years slots up to 20 years.
More than 20 People in service are supporting our clients for resolving their issues and dedicated service call center is first of its kindly which provide customer telephonic support whenever required. This service activity is having a strong backup with integrated warehouse establishments. Even during COVID situations our service personnel have supported all the existing customers for any support. Site visits are done with all the precautionary steps and safety gears prescribed by authorities as well as by our own internal advisories.
We are also now BIS certified for all the range from 1kW to 100kW.
20. How is the current order flow?
So far orders have been better than we expected. The company is currently at full capacity.
21. What have been some technology related innovations and developments?
Ginlong has always spearheaded the innovations. We have updated the monitoring platform-Soliscloud which is more advanced from our previous portal. This solution comes with the latest 4G Dongle stick imparting better local communication and higher bit rate transfer speed. On the product front the retrofit storage solution for the utility scale plant proved to be the need of time. This product shall be ready this year Q2.
SolisCloud is the new generation of intelligent PV system monitoring. This new monitoring platform will empower you like never before. You will have full control of your system whenever and wherever you are. You will benefit from upgraded accurate fault alarm messaging that is adjustable to notify you within hours that fit meet your needs.
For simple O&M the new platform features a full size display of all your installations with real-time data. You will have an intelligent alarm system that gives recommendations to quickly repair your field faults. In depth analysis tools allow you to understand the overall health of your system. IV curve scanning can be done easily and quickly on your whole system. A live power flow display gives visibility of both standard solar systems as well as storage systems. Most importantly you will have complete control of your systems and be able to monitor and adapt anything when and how you want.
