As part of Solar Power World’s 2023 Trends in Solar series, an article was recently published entitled, “Mightier microinverters can power 4 solar panels,” that highlights APsystems as the forerunner in making a four-in-one (quad) microinverter as early as 2014. In addition, the article features Jason Higginson, senior marketing director of APsystems, providing information on why microinverters are now ideal for commercial solar applications due to the quad design. In particular, quad microinverters reduce cost, speed up installation and produce more energy over the life of the system.

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“When you combine sufficient solar irradiance with supportive policies on clean energy from local governments, you obtain strong driving factors which set the foundation for a growing and sustainable solar business in LatAm,” he explained.

Another key to APsystems’ success in LatAm has been close collaboration with leading distributors. The company has been working with Ecori Energia Solar, one of the largest distributed generation (DG) PV system distributors in Brazil, for almost six years. Their partnership has helped increase APsystems’ presence in the promising Brazilian market.

“Both of us have the same view of the MLPE segment, and we treat each other as reliable partners as well as good friends,” said Xianyu.

“With a great sense of professionalism and ethics, together we created this market from scratch,” said Martins. “Our resellers started to migrate their sales from other technologies to APsystems microinverters, and they love it.”

Xianyu credited Ecori’s large business and service network in Brazil to the company’s “very professional team highly responsible for added value and contribution to this market through consistent best-in-class technical support and training.”

Although Brazil is among LatAm’s largest solar markets, it still has some obstacles to overcome. “Each coin has two sides; opportunity and challenge always coexist,” said Xianyu.

He said APsystems keeps an eye on uncertainties like potential policy change, unstable exchange rates, and other big challenges like the unexpected impact of Covid-19. Xianyu also cited a desire to continually lower system costs so that microinverter solutions gain even more interest in commercial applications.

“The greatest challenge we face here is to ensure the resellers also do a great job on their installations,” said Martins. “We know that education and training are key for newcomers in the market, as many new companies need to acquire the necessary knowledge to guarantee high-quality installation services for residential and commercial system owners. We believe this is improving.”

Martins pointed out that Ecori offers free training, both online and at the company’s center in São Paulo city. He said, “We are always available to make our market more professional.”

Another challenge is the discussion over potential changes to Brazil’s DG rules. Martins said he hopes the country’s politicians will protect the solar industry, noting President Jair Bolsonaro “already gave many speeches in its favor.” Martins said some associations, such as Movimento Solar Livre, are also “doing a great job trying to avoid any kind of taxation.”

Both Martins and Xianyu are pleased and encouraged to see Brazil’s DG market becoming increasingly mature.

According to Brazilian solar association ABSolar, the country recently surpassed the historic mark of 7 GW of operational PV power. DG solar accounted for most of that capacity, with more than 4 GW installed. Brazil’s government also recently set a target of 45% renewables by 2050.

To help expand Brazil’s MLPE use, APsystems and Ecori plan on maintaining their partnership. Martins said the companies’ six-year relationship is “just the beginning of a very long journey together.”

The future

APsystems already has some new solutions under development. Xianyu said the company will launch a new generation of microinverters for both residential and large roofs based on an entirely new architecture in a few months.

For example, Xianyu mentioned the new APsystems dual microinverter, the DS3. He said this third-generation dual microinverter is the result of unprecedented integration work that has enabled APsystems to reduce the number of components by 20%. It will offer unprecedented power density, delivering 50% more AC output power than the YC600, and will be “fully compatible with our current single-phase dual and quad, the YC600 & QS1, for installation on the same roof.”

After celebrating the company’s 10-year anniversary, reaching milestones, and strengthening key partnerships in emerging markets, APsystems is excited about the future.

“APsystems is now well recognized for its leadership in multi-module microinverter solutions, bringing innovative products to market that are built to last,” said Xianyu. “This is the DNA of the company and will continue to be.”