Vitality large GE chooses Australia to launch its first branded solar inverter – One Step Off The Grid

A number of GE branded solar inverters have landed in Australia and, according to a statement by the US industrial giant, are being offered for sale Down Under in front of "every other country in the world" and are aimed at the "high-end" of the market.

The new range of inverters manufactured by GoodWe under the name GE Solar Inverter includes two single phase models, the GEP 3-5 kW and the GEP 5-10 kW. and the three-phase GEP 29.9-60 kW, which is aimed at the commercial and industrial sectors.

According to the website, the 3-5 kW GEP is "small" but can oversize 50% DC, overload 10% AC, and achieve a maximum efficiency of 98.3%, which GE describes as a "unique competitive advantage".

The GEP 5-10 kW is billed as the ultimate solution for the residential segment with 3 MPPT (Maximum credit tracking) for maximum performance retention and minimum performance loss.

"With a starting voltage of only 80 V, this superior, intelligently efficient inverter was specially developed to use solar energy from sunrise to sunset regardless of irradiation and weather conditions," says the literature.

"Our analysts knew we needed best-in-class products as we were targeting the upper end of the market, where end-user loyalty to the brand also brings high expectations," said GE Licensing Senior Managing Director Thomas Buccellato.

The new products will hit the Australian market at an interesting time. Strict new inverter standards will come into effect in December 2021, having only been finalized this week by the Australian Energy Market Commission.

As One Step reported here, due to the updates to AS / NZS 4777.2 Part 2, it is mandatory for all new inverters connected to the national electricity market to have a through-voltage fault for undervoltage faults to ensure that household energy systems are not " trigger ”or disconnect if voltage disturbances occur in the network.

The rule change was requested by the Australian energy market operator as it was one of three seeking better control and visibility over a distributed energy resource that can quickly account for up to 50 percent of the current demand across the grid – and significantly more in South Australia.

To this end, GE assures that its inverters have the "latest and most advanced features" to ensure the highest quality and reliability and is backed by a dedicated GE Solar Inverter team in Australia.

The technical data for "protection" for the GEP 5-10kW inverter can be found in the following table and for the other two inverters on the product pages here.

"GE Solar Inverter's goal is to make an important contribution to the renewable energy transition in Australia and a major technological innovator in Australia's ever-growing solar industry," the statement said.

The inverters are available from the partners nominated by GE Solar Inverter, including One Stop Warehouse and MMEM Green Tech.