Germany-headquartered Siemens has announced plans to produce 800 MW worth of string inverters annually in Wisconsin, US through its local manufacturing partner Sanmina. It is now taking capacity reservations for volume commitments for 2024.
Sanmina will produce Siemens' BPTL3 inverters on a new production line at its Kenosha fab from early 2024, to produce 5,200 units annually to cater to the utility scale market.
Inverters ranging from 125 kW to 155 kW will be manufactured with an efficiency of 99%. These are designed for 1000- or 1500-Volt DC solar arrays.
Siemens acquired the string inverter business of KACO new energy GmbH in 2019 to produce the Blueplanet series with silicon carbide (SiC) technology, for utility and commercial ground-mounted applications.
"Working with Sanmina to establish this new production line, Siemens is well positioned to address supply challenges our country is facing as we work to localize production for green and renewable infrastructure," said Vice President of the Electrification and Automation Business at Siemens Smart Infrastructure USA.
Recently, the SEIA counted 155 GW of new production capacity announcements for solar manufacturing within the course of a year, ever since the Joe Biden administration cleared the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August 2022. It includes 7 GW inverter capacity (see Inflation Reduction Act For Solar: Report Card).
With its US solar inverter production plans, Siemens joins the likes of its peers as SolarEdge of Israel that plans to start shipments for its US-made products from Q3/2023.
US based Enphase Energy is also now producing its microinverters via Foxconn in Wisconsin and through Flex in South Carolina.
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