SMA gains certification to sell three-phase inverter into the Japanese market

German solar energy equipment supplier SMA Solar Technology has become the first non-Japanese manufacturer to sell a three-phase inverter certified for the Japanese market.

The Japan Electrical Safety & Environment Technology Laboratories (JET) has certified SMA Solar Technology’s Sunny Tripower 10000 TLEE-JP for sale on the Japanese market.

The move makes SMA the first non-Japanese inverter manufacturer to sell a three-phase JET-certified device in Japan. The inverter is specially designed to meet the demands of the Japanese market.

“Measured by market volume, Japan is one of the world’s most attractive markets, and the U.S. market research company IHS estimates that it will also be the photovoltaic market with the strongest sales in 2013,” said SMA CEO Pierre-Pascal Urbon. “Now that the Sunny Tripower has received JET certification, we can cover all market segments in this important market from small residential PV systems and commercial applications to large-scale PV power plants.”

The three-phase Sunny Tripower 10000TLEE-JP is designed for commercial PV plants with an output of more than 10 kWp, offering a peak efficiency of 97.8 percent. The inverter’s connection area is adapted to Japanese conduits.
SME began offering its JET-certified Sunny Boy inverters for residential PV systems as well as Sunny Central inverters tailored to local requirements on the Japanese market last year. This fall, the country’s largest PV power plant equipped with SMA inverters and plant monitoring solutions will go into operation.

“We expect continued strong growth stimuli from the Japanese photovoltaic market,” Urbon added. “With our sales and service company in Tokyo as well as our highly efficient inverters across a range of power classes precisely tailored to the demands of the Japanese market, we are extremely well positioned here in all segments.”