APS YC500 training video now available

APS USA has added this new video, “YC500 Microinverter and Energy Communication Unit Installation,” to its lineup of training resources.The training video supplements current webinars for APS installer certification, and can be found here.This video fully explains the YC500 microinverter installation process and provides basic setup of the Energy Communication Unit. Subsequent videos will cover ECU programming and Energy Monitoring and Analysis registration and management.APS USA still hosts WebEx training on the first and third Wednesdays of every month. The first session will cover YC500 and ECU installation procedures, while the mid-month session is on EMA registration and management.

To sign up for APS installer training, send your name, company, email address and phone number to support@apsamerica.com. The training facilitator will send invitations that include WebEx access information in the days leading up to each session.

APS YC500 training video now available

APS America has added this new video, “YC500 Microinverter and Energy Communication Unit Installation,” to its lineup of training resources.The training video supplements current webinars for APS installer certification, and can be found here.This video fully explains the YC500 microinverter installation process and provides basic setup of the Energy Communication Unit. Subsequent videos will cover ECU programming and Energy Monitoring and Analysis registration and management.APS USA still hosts WebEx training on the first and third Wednesdays of every month. The first session will cover YC500 and ECU installation procedures, while the mid-month session is on EMA registration and management.

To sign up for APS installer training, send your name, company, email address and phone number to support@apsamerica.com. The training facilitator will send invitations that include WebEx access information in the days leading up to each session.

World’s largest true 3-phase microinverter installation powered by APS YC1000

The groundbreaking YC1000 microinverter from APS will power a milestone true 3-phase installation going into service in China’s Zhejiang Province this week.

More than 1.4 MW of the total 8.13 MW project will be generated using APS microinverter technology – earning it distinction as the world’s largest true 3-phase microinverter installation.

The project at the Haining Hailide Jianshan factory began development four weeks ago, and is planned to join China’s national power grid on Dec. 30.

The installation includes 1,200 APS YC1000 microinverters. Now available in all APS markets worldwide, the YC1000 is the industry’s first true 3-phase microinverter and handles up to four modules per unit, simplifying PV system design and installation while significantly lowering balance of system costs.

Independent output and tracking optimizes the performance of each PV module while minimizing shading effects across the whole array.

APS microinverter technology increases array output by 5-25 percent compared to conventional “string” inverter systems.

Using the integrated APS Energy Communication Unit (ECU), Haining system managers will be able to track power output, voltage, current, temperature and other performance data of every module in the array.

The completed project will provide approximately 8.14 million kWh of energy per year, saving nearly 3,000 tons of coal while reducing CO2 admissions by more than 700 tons. Over the plant’s projected 25-year lifespan, the reduction in coal use and carbon and sulfur dioxide emissions will be multiplied many times over.

The year 2014 has marked the first widespread development of distributed PV power throughout China, an effort vigorously promoted by the Chinese government.

The electricity generated by the Haining system promises a strong economic return for investors, powering the factory even as it protects the local environment and promotes APS 3-phase microinverter technology in the robust China market and worldwide.

APS Solar Project of the Year Awards

Dear APS installer,

APSaward-iconThank you for choosing APS microinverters for your solar installations. We’re grateful for your patronage and your ongoing support of our advanced microinverter solutions.

As 2014 winds down, we’d like to look back on the great solar successes of the past year and share our very best stories with the world.

So we’re pleased to announce our first ever APS Solar Project of the Year Awards – and we hope you’ll enter.

What made your project outstanding? You tell us — in terms of scale, design, power output, challenging conditions, or just creative application of APS microinverter technology.

We invite you to submit your project details here, including a brief write-up about your best installation(s) along with some high resolution photographs including some showing our microinverters.  The project can be under construction or completed. Entries will be judged by our APS team.

We will be giving awards in both Residential and Commercial categories.

We’ll announce the APS Solar Project of the Year Award winners early in the new year through promotions that highlight your project and your company.

The winner in each category will receive an iPad Mini 3!

We’re excited to announce this contest to highlight the excellence of APS microinverter installations as they multiply around the US. APS is committed to helping you grow your solar business even as we grow ours, so this is a cross-promotion opportunity not to be missed.

Submit your project entries here by January 9th 2015. Please read the Terms and conditions before entering.

If you have any questions about the contest, please contact Deb Henderson, media@apsamerica.com

Thank you for partnership and support,

Your friends at APS USA

installation-image

 

VP Ludgate gives video tour of APS line

APS VP Michael Ludgate offered a quick video tour of the company’s microinverter line at Solar Power International ’14 in Las Vegas recently. The display shows the APS product evolution as it increases in power, is optimized for the residential segment, and moves into commercial applications with the YC1000 3-phase unit.

Western Nevada Supply adds APS microinverter line

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 8, 2014

apsystems-WNS

SEATTLE — Regionally renowned equipment distributor Western Nevada Supply has added the APS microinverter line to its solar product offerings.

Known as “the Blue Team,” Western Nevada marked 50 years of local family ownership in 2014, and serves customers throughout the Nevada and California markets with an extensive line of solar, HVAC, irrigation, plumbing and industrial supplies.

“We’ve added the APS microinverter line to our solar offerings to expand our already strong lineup of solar products, and to offer our customers microinverter options in our northern Nevada and Eastern Sierra markets,” said Russ Cartwright, Solar Sales team member for Western Nevada.

Paul Barlock, APS America senior vice president, said the industry-leading APS microinverter brand is proud to be distributed by a company with such a strong history of family ownership and business success.

“Western Nevada is a great company and a great partner for APS,” Barlock said. “Given their geographic coverage, offering APS microinverters will give them a distinct competitive advantage in the Nevada solar market.”

Founded by Jack Reviglio and Bill Higgin, Western Nevada Supply opened shop in a rented 1,200 square-foot warehouse in Sparks, Nev., in 1964. From a modest beginning as a wholesale plumbing house, the business quickly grew, and in 1967 Jack’s brother, Tom Reviglio, joined the firm as marketer.

The company soon expanded with the addition of a waterworks sales department and relocated to a 7,000 square-foot facility. In 1973, strong growth again prompted a move, this time to a 10-acre site, which now has expanded to 20 acres with 40,000 square feet of inventory under one roof.

Today, a second generation of Reviglios run the family business. To better serve outlying areas, the company has opened branches in Elko, Carson City, and Winnemucca, Nev., and South Lake Tahoe, Bishop, Susanville and Truckee, Calif.

APS was founded in Silicon Valley in 2009, and is now a global leader in the development, manufacturing and marketing of microinverters based on their own proprietary, leading-edge solar technology. APS America, representing APS in the US market, is based near Seattle.

Recent major distribution deals have brought the APS line to the American Southwest, central California, mountain and mid-Atlantic solar markets.

APS ranked No. 2 in global market share among leading microinverter suppliers by shipments in 2013 (source: GTM Research).

For more information on Western Nevada Supply, see www.goblueteam.com.
Information on APS microinverter products can be found at www.usa.apsystems.com.

APS microinverters power new community solar project in Spokane

APS dual-module microinverters power a prominent new “community solar” installation in Spokane, Wash.

“It’s producing extremely well,” said John Francisco, chief of energy resources for Inland Power & Light, as he monitored the output of the new 30kW installation outside the utility’s office. “We were fortunate to finish construction and energize the array during the span of several cloudless days so we could get a good feel for the performance of the array.”

The ground-mount array sits in view of passing motorists on I-90, a prominent display of APS microinverter capability.

It’s the first significant venture into solar for Inland Power, a member-owned utility serving about 39,000 residential and commercial customers in 13 counties in eastern Washington and northern Idaho. Founded in 1937, it is the largest electric cooperative in Washington.

brimma2-smThe full cost of the system was funded by participating utility members, who were given the chance to buy shares in the system and reap the financial benefits of solar investment.

The project is also a showcase for Washington’s thriving solar industry. The installation includes 56 APS YC500-MIW microinverters distributed by Blue Frog Solar of Poulsbo, 112 PV modules by Itek Energy of Bellingham, and racking by SunModo of Vancouver, Wash.

The installation was completed in late August by Brimma Solar of Vancouver, the winning bidder among three firms that vied for the project.

John Harley, Brimma Solar vice president, said the project’s impact extends far beyond the customers who will benefit from its power production.

“When a utility installs a system, it helps promote solar for their customers,” Harley said. “Customers with solar, or thinking about installing solar, feel comfort when they know their utility supports solar.”

For Washington solar manufacturers, the project is also chance to demonstrate the high quality of solar components being produced by local industry.

“We think this is exactly the sort of project our legislators hoped to encourage when they envisioned community solar,” said Tim Bailey, Blue Frog Solar co-founder and APS microinverter distributor. “To see locally made solar equipment in a showcase project like this is tremendous, and really shows solar’s success in Washington.”

Inland Power is the fourth Washington utility to develop an array under the community solar model, according to Phil Lou of the Washington State University Energy Program, which tracks the industry. About 30 community solar projects totaling 872 kW capacity have been developed statewide.

Those have supplemented residential and commercial solar installations in the growing industry. About 8 MW of solar capacity was installed across Washington in 2013, a 54 percent increase over the previous year.

brimma1-sm

COMMUNITY SOLAR

In 2005, the Washington state Legislature enacted solar production incentives to promote the development of alternative energy sources including solar and wind.
Homeowners and businesses that install a solar system can earn a power rebate of 54 cents per kilowatt-hour of energy they put back into the grid – a “distributed generation” model – up to $5,000 per year.

The Legislature later extended the incentives to “community solar” projects, encouraging utilities and local governments to add clean energy arrays to their own production capacity. The sponsoring utility earns a state tax credit that is passed along to participating customers in the form of production incentives.

Inland Power already had about 80 customers with residential solar arrays. The utility also had a modest, 2.24 kW ground-mount array of its own that went up when it built a new office five years ago.

The opportunity to build a larger, community array on the same property made financial sense to the utility, and was met with strong support from members when it was proposed.

“We wanted to expand solar participation, and community solar was an excellent avenue due to the low entry cost to each participant and the very generous state incentive structure,” Francisco said.

With the array now up and running, members got the chance to buy in. Shares were made available to Inland Power members at $300 each, with a limit of 10 shares per member. A total of 526 shares were available.

The shares were priced high enough to keep the total number manageable by the utility, and low enough to allow participation even by customers of modest means, Francisco said.

Because of strong demand, Inland Power offered the shares to members through a lottery in October.

“We were way oversold, and the lottery was a fair approach to allocating the available shares,” Francisco said. Inland had approximately 1,300 members submit their names for the lottery, and 87 members were drawn.

Solar shareholders will receive the benefit of net metering, that is, the positive difference between their own power consumption and what their portion of the community solar system generates. They will also see a pro rata rebate from Inland Power per kilowatt hour of power produced.

“We are excited to help a broader section of our members enjoy the environmental benefits of solar power, contribute to our state economy by supporting in-state manufacturing and take advantage of the state-sponsored incentive program for community solar,” Francisco said.

Francisco said the project is already a success for Inland Power customers. If the utility is seen in the vanguard of community solar in Washington, that’s okay too.
“We’re doing this for the right reasons, but it’s nice to be recognized,” he said. “We believe in it, otherwise we wouldn’t do it.”

 

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM APS

turkeyWith the national day of gratitude upon us, the APS team would like to extend our sincere thanks to all of our solar partners across the U.S.We have a lot to be thankful for. Distributors, installers and end-users alike, your enthusiasm and support have helped make APS the #2 microinverter provider in the solar industry. We’re here because of you – thank you!Our latest groundbreaking microinverter product will roll out after the holiday weekend, so be watching our newsletter for details. For now, as we pause to acknowledge the bounties that we enjoy and share, please accept our deep appreciation for your affiliation with APS.

APS microinverters now offered by Albasolar, top-tier U.S and international wholesale distributor

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

apsystems-alba-solar

November 13, 2014

SEATTLE — Leading international distributor Albasolar has added APS microinverters to their select PV product line.

The APS YC500 microinverter and related products are now available through Albasolar in the U.S., Spain and Portugal markets. Introduction of APS equipment to other European and Latin American solar markets through Albasolar channels will follow.

“APS is emerging as a dominant player in the microinverter space both here in the U.S. and abroad,” said Thomas Nelson, APS Vice President for Sales. “Albasolar’s multi-country presence gives us another key partner in the U.S., while this same channel allows us to expand internationally.”

Albasolar was founded in Europe in 1993. Always loyal to a pure wholesale distribution model, the company has supplied thousands of PV installations in Europe and North and South America.

The company’s industry experience means it can offer superior logistics and create strategic agreements with the industry’s leading manufacturers like APS. This allows Albasolar to offer best-in-class products at excellent prices.

“The microinverter is still a young product compared to string inverters, and APS has come to play a good role in the growth of this market,” said Alberto Medrano, CEO of Albasolar. “APS, with its 500-wattoutput model, will be a leader in this category.”

Albasolar’s U.S. operations are headquartered in Boston, Mass., and the company maintains additional offices and wholesale distribution centers in California, Florida, and across Europe.

APS product design positions the line for success in a growing number of international markets like those served by Albasolar.
APS microinverters’ unique chip-based architecture allows each unit to be easily programmed to accommodate the various grid voltages found in different regional markets – a flexibility built into each APS unit and unmatched by other microinverter products.

APS was founded in Silicon Valley in 2009, and is now a global leader in the development, manufacturing and marketing of microinverters based on their own proprietary, leading-edge solar technology. APS USA, representing APS in the US market, is based near Seattle.

APS ranked No. 2 in global market share among leading microinverter suppliers by shipments in 2013 (source: GTM Research).

For information on Albasolar, see www.albasolar.com
Information on APS microinverter products can be found at www.usa.apsystems.com.

Advance Green Power now offering APS microinverters in Mexico market

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

logo AGP

November 11, 2014

Mexico City-based Advance Green Power is bringing APS microinverter technology to the fast-developing Mexico market.

The company will offer APS products as part of its comprehensive line of residential and commercial PV solutions.

Advance Green Power’s mission is to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases while raising awareness of the ecological and economic benefits of sustainable energy, helping individuals and organizations adopt these new technologies to positively impact the environment.

“We are always looking for cutting edge technology in order to offer the best solutions,” said Oscar Jiménez Velázquez, Advance Green Power director general. “Our technology partners in the United States like APS always provide us with the best quality products.”

The agreement comes as APS rapidly expands its presence in new regional markets around the globe. Already the market leader in China and Australia and with a rapidly growing presence in the U.S., APS now offers its advanced microinverter products to customers in Latin America and Europe.

Thomas Nelson, APS vice president of sales, noted that Latin America is a fast-growing region for the solar market.

“Mexico has tremendous potential for clean-energy development, and it’s a natural fit for our microinverter technology,” Nelson said. “We’re pleased to bring our PV solutions to consumers there.”

APS microinverters’ unique chip-based architecture allows each unit to be specially programmed to accommodate the various grid voltages found in different regional markets – a flexibility built into each APS unit and unmatched by other microinverter products.

APS was founded in Silicon Valley in 2009, and is now a global leader in the development, manufacturing and marketing of microinverters based on their own proprietary, leading-edge solar technology. APS USA, representing APS in the US market, is based near Seattle.

APS ranked No. 2 in global market share among leading microinverter suppliers by shipments in 2013 (source: GTM Research).
For information on Advance Green Power, see www.adgreenpower.com

Information on APS microinverter products can be found at www.usa.apsystems.com.