Powerway PV SA and Sungrow have announced that they will open a solar inverter manufacturing facility in Port Elizabeth, South Africa
The plant will be the largest of its kind situated outside China and will be located in the Coega Industrial Development Zone, Powerway said.
The company added that it is set to make use of existing inverters and will allow the factory to operate at full capacity during its first year.
Benson Wu, CEO of Powerway Renewable Energy, said, “Unlike other manufactured inputs into the solar renewable energy space, the inverter component is heavily reliable on technology and development. The advantages of a global player in Sungrow are thus apparent and will nicely place the local Powerway group in a position to roll out beyond the traditional IPP space into the lucrative and fast growing roof top solar power generation market.
"With its irradiation resource second to none, South Africa is the best country to develop solar energy. With the net metering practice in place, added with our leasing model, I believe South Africa will be one of the biggest solar markets in the world.”
Powerway has executed the construction of solar farms in Europe, North America, Asia as well as Africa, totalling more than 680MW.
The company was also the first company to bring third-party solar finance to South Africa, it said.
Sungrow is Asia's largest inverter manufacturer and the third largest globally.
The facility is expected to commence production in June 2014, Powerway said.
