Currently, the full Sunny Central Compact Power (CP) line—which includes 500-800 kilowatt inverters—and the Sunny Central 500HE-US assembled in SMA’s Denver, Colo. manufacturing facility meet the guidelines established under the Buy American clause. This site also provides SMA’s ARRA-compliant Sunny Boy inverters, which range from 3,000 to 8,000 watts.

Installers and project developers requiring these domestically assembled, ARRA-compliant central inverters should specify when ordering.

“The addition of the Sunny Central CP line and the Sunny Central 500HE-US completes our portfolio of ARRA-compliant inverters,” said Jurgen Krehnke, president and general manager of SMA America. “Now installers can specify the industry’s most durable, reliable and efficient inverters for all project sizes—residential, commercial and utility-scale—while satisfying ARRA’s Buy American Clause.”

The Sunny Central CP line includes the Sunny Central 500CP, 630CP, 720CP, 760CP and 800CP, which won the Intersolar Award 2010 in the photovoltaics category. The outdoor-rated Sunny Central CP inverters produce 110 percent of rated output at ambient temperatures below 25 C, resulting in increased yields and a lower levelized cost of energy. Meanwhile, the Sunny Central 500HE-US boasts an industry-leading maximum efficiency of 98.6 percent.

The UL-certified, ARRA-compliant Sunny Boy 3000-US, 4000-US, 5000-US, 6000-US, 7000-US and 8000-US offer efficiencies of up to 97 percent. Their longevity is enhanced via SMA’s patented OptiCool™ active temperature-management system and rugged cast-aluminum, outdoor-rated enclosure. Automatic grid-voltage detection and an integrated DC disconnect switch simplify installation, ensuring safety while saving time. These Sunny Boy models also feature galvanic isolation and can be used with all types of modules—crystalline as well as thin-film. They include a 10-year factory warranty, with the ability to extend up to 20 years.

About SMA
SMA Solar Technology AG is the global market leader for solar inverters. The SMA Group generated sales of €1.9 billion in 2010. It is headquartered in Niestetal, near Kassel, Germany, and is represented in 19 countries on four different continents. The Group employs a staff of over 5,300 worldwide, plus a number of temporary employees which varies on a seasonal basis. The multi award-winning product range covers solar inverters for roof systems, major solar projects and off-grid systems, enabling SMA to provide a technically optimized inverter solution for all size categories and system types. Its range of services is complemented by a worldwide service network. The highly flexible manufacturing plants for solar inverters in Germany and North America have a capacity of approximately 11.5 GW a year. The SMA Group also operates a manufacturing plant for electromagnetic core components in Poland. Since 2008, SMA has been listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and also in the TecDAX index. In recent years, SMA has received numerous awards for its excellence as an employer and achieved first place in 2011 in the federal “Great Place to Work” competition. www.SMA-America.com

“Regional Forums allow Sunny PRO Club members and non-members to participate in exclusive educational opportunities from SMA,” said Ciara Wakefield, Sunny PRO Club manager for SMA America and SMA Canada. “In addition to learning more about SMA products and their uses in residential and commercial PV systems, Regional Forum attendees can also gather information about the technical and marketing resources available to Sunny PRO Club members.”

Each Regional Forum includes technical training sessions by the SMA Solar Academy. The Boost Your Profits: Best Practices for Residential Design training session provides an overview of tools—such as SMA’s Sunny Design and Solarchecker software—that help installers optimize their PV systems. Another training session, Grow Your Business: Commercial Systems Made Easy, explains how installers can apply their existing experience and knowledge in the residential market to expand into small commercial applications through decentralized PV system concepts. Monitoring Makes Cents: Increase Profitability and Performance through Communications introduces the SMA family of monitoring systems, with particular emphasis on how to set up and use the Sunny Portal to track multiple arrays. Information about island and battery-backup systems for residential and commercial applications is included in the session entitled The Gold Standard in Off-Grid and Battery Management Systems: Sunny Island Technical Overview. Finally, A New Standard in Residential Inverters: Sunny Boy HF is a hands-on workshop that now includes information about micro-string hybrid systems, as well as a sneak peek of SMA’s upcoming Sunny Boy 240 micro inverter.

Rounding out the Regional Forum schedule are presentations by the SMA Service and Sunny PRO Club teams. SMA Service offers priority technical support for Sunny PRO Club members. Regional Forum attendees can learn more about these services, as well as have exclusive access to SMA Service personnel. During the Sunny PRO Club presentation, attendees can learn how their market effectiveness and sales can improve through exclusive technical benefits and discounted custom marketing support materials.

There also is a panel discussion with SMA Sales, Service, Solar Academy and Sunny PRO Club representatives.

For more information about the Regional Forums and to register, please visit www.SMARegionalForums.com, email RegionalForums@SMA-America.com or call 877 506 1747. Space is limited and Sunny PRO Club members have first priority.

REGIONAL FORUM SCHEDULE
 
1/24/12, RALEIGH: Sheraton Raleigh Hotel, 421 S. Salisbury Street, Raleigh, NC  27601
      
1/26/12, TAMPA: Marriott Tampa Airport, Tampa International Airport, 4200 George J. Bean Parkway, Tampa FL  33607

2/9/12, HONOLULU: Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, 2552 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu, HI  95815

2/28/12, LOS ANGELES: Los Angeles Airport Marriott, 5855 West Century Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA  90045

3/13/12, DENVER: Renaissance Denver Hotel, 3801 Quebec Street, Denver CO  80207

3/22/12, BOSTON: Boston Marriott Copley Place, 110 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA  02116

3/27/12, TORONTO: Hilton Toronto Airport, 5875 Airport Road, Mississauga, ON  L4V 1N1

4/17/12, NEWARK: Location TBD

Additional cities scheduled for 2012: Long Island, NY; Santa Fe, NM; Austin, TX; Nashville, TN; Kansas City, MO; Portland, OR; Seattle, WA; and Phoenix, AZ. More details about these events will follow. 

About SMA
SMA Solar Technology AG is the global market leader for solar inverters. The SMA Group generated sales of €1.9 billion in 2010. It is headquartered in Niestetal, near Kassel, Germany, and is represented in 19 countries on four different continents. The Group employs a staff of over 5,300 worldwide, plus a number of temporary employees which varies on a seasonal basis. The multi award-winning product range covers solar inverters for roof systems, major solar projects and off-grid systems, enabling SMA to provide a technically optimized inverter solution for all size categories and system types. Its range of services is complemented by a worldwide service network. The highly flexible manufacturing plants for solar inverters in Germany and North America have a capacity of approximately 11.5 GW a year. The SMA Group also operates a manufacturing plant for electromagnetic core components in Poland. Since 2008, SMA has been listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and also in the TecDAX index. In recent years, SMA has received numerous awards for its excellence as an employer and achieved first place in 2011 in the federal “Great Place to Work” competition.
www.SMA-America.com / www.SMA-Canada.ca

The Key Role of the Inverter in Project Risk Management

Authored by:
Bates Marshall, Senior Manager,  Strategic Marketing, SMA  America
Jim Morgenson,  Senior Manager,  Utility Accounts, SMA America

Despite the hugely successful build-out of PV in Germany,  Italy, Spain  and the rest of Europe over the last 10 years, U.S. market investors continue to view PV as a higher-risk investment than other options for their capital. That opinion is held even though 242 MW of utility-scale solar was installed during 2010,  with an estimated 776 MW scheduled  for completion  this year (according to GTM  Research).

Various solar incentives—such as state and utility Renewable  Portfolio Standards  (RPS), the Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC), and the post-recession emergence  of financial  institutions with suitable tax appetites—have helped create an environment where solar project developers  and their equity and debt partners can get deals done. However, project financing remains a complex and costly task for many utility- scale PV system developers.

Binary Metric or Sliding Index?

To help facilitate these deals, suppliers have begun to focus on the bankability  of their products and technologies.  However,  despite this apparent flight to quality, project transaction costs remain high. Suppliers do themselves a disservice by presenting the term “bankability”  as a binary metric: either a product or supplier is bankable or not. In reality, bankability should be an index, with suppliers placed along a continuum of risk. Projects built with technologies  from lower-risk suppliers should be afforded a decreased cost of capital than those from higher-risk suppliers. Project developers  and their finance partners should benchmark these risks to create a bankability index.

The Key to Performance and Risk Mitigation

In utility-scale PV, all those megawatts of direct current must flow through inverters to ultimately reach the grid. Inverters, therefore, play  a central role in project risk mitigation. Many  of the well- known components of risk are directly linked to the PV inverter: energy production  (off-take), delivery schedule, operations, management, and grid integrity, to name a few. In PV, as with most investments, best practices dictate allocating these risks to the parties best capable  of managing them.

When developing a bankability index, financial strength and stability are foremost factors. Utility- scale PV investments typically  have a 20-year design life, if not longer. Developers and finance partners with output guarantees and liquidated damages  on the line look to inverter suppliers to back up these guarantees either with extended warrantees or careful due diligence  to provide  the assurance that the plant will still be operating  in year 10, 20 or 30. In this area, one trend in which solar PV can be expected  to follow  the wind industry’s lead is the decreased  reliance on extended warranties in favor of more stringent supplier selection and due diligence. Among others, project stakeholders should look to common financial  metrics, such as debt-to-capital ratio and cash flow per share, to properly understand the relative stabilities of inverter suppliers.

Technology Leadership

Developers  should also insist on technology leadership. Unlike solar modules, racking systems and other balance-of-system components, leading inverter suppliers can differentiate themselves by the dynamic performance of their technology, which directly affects energy yield and project returns. Although initial capital costs are quite close among leading inverter companies, energy harvest over the project lifetime can vary significantly. Developers, investors, utility off-takers and other stakeholders should rely on levelized cost of energy, PVsyst analysis and other long-term metrics in order to properly compare proposals from one supplier to another and reduce the risk of insufficient production to meet contractual obligations.

Global Reach

Another critical factor is whether inverter technology suppliers have global reach with sufficient local resources. One  of the key stories in 2010  was the diffusion of market demand. As the solar market moves rapidly  beyond  its reliance on Germany and other countries—like the US, China, Japan and UK—become meaningful consumption markets, developers themselves must continue  to go global in order to achieve  best-in-class cost structures. Engineers and plant designers who can rely on a single, stable set of products, regardless of project location, can reduce the risk of margin erosion as their businesses scale.

PV Industry Focus

Also, inverter suppliers  must have sufficient focus and critical  mass. As the solar market achieves  truly global scale, established energy and industrial corporations have entered the market through acquisitions of smaller inverter suppliers. Since power plant development is a capital-intensive endeavor, these new entrants can be viewed in a positive light. However, one should look carefully at the revenue and profit contribution of the inverter business relative to the overall size of the company. Will the parent company reinvest profits in the growth of the PV industry or will the inverter business suffer in contention for internal investment?

Experience Matters

Finally, developers should leverage the experience of their suppliers. Every PV project is unique, and small variations in module technology, site conditions  or utility interconnect requirements can affect the performance  of the inverter and, therefore, project returns. Developers should ask for detailed references from suppliers and be cautious of new entrants promising  oversized  returns with technology unproven over the long term.

As the utility-scale PV industry achieves true scale, accurate  risk assessment and mitigation in project financing is critical in enabling developers to deliver consistent returns. Developers who effectively benchmark suppliers using metrics like a bankability index can shorten the finance cycle, improve returns and increase project turnover.

Would  you like information about SMA’s  utility-scale solutions?
Contact  Jim Morgenson at +1 916 625 0870 or Jim.Morgenson@SMA-America.com

“This is a tremendous achievement for SMA,” said Scott Crabtree, general manager of North American operations for SMA America Production, LLC. “Passing the registration audits for both ISO standards, and with zero findings, is evidence of our industry-best manufacturing processes, resulting in a superior experience for our customers.”

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is the world’s largest developer and publisher of international standards. ISO 9001 addresses the fundamentals of quality management systems, while ISO 14001 focuses on environmental management systems.

Certification to both standards enables SMA to continue to provide the highest quality products and services to new and existing customers and helps make the company’s procedures more efficient.

TÜV USA, Inc. performed the certification audit and awarded SMA registration for ISO 9001:2008 and 14001:2004 based on SMA’s successful compliance to the standards. The Denver facility began its ISO certification process in January 2011 and spent the following months planning, organizing, creating and implementing procedures that make the development, manufacturing and supply of its products and services more efficient, safer and cleaner.

The ISO certification is current for three years, at which time the Denver facility will undergo a re-certification audit to renew the certification.

SMA’s Denver assembly site provides Sunny Boy and Sunny Central inverters for the U.S. market. Production began at this facility, SMA’s first manufacturing site outside of Germany, in early 2010. 

About SMA
SMA Solar Technology AG is the global market leader for solar inverters. The SMA Group generated sales of €1.9 billion in 2010. It is headquartered in Niestetal, near Kassel, Germany, and is represented in 19 countries on four different continents. The Group employs a staff of over 5,300 worldwide, plus a number of temporary employees which varies on a seasonal basis. The multi award-winning product range covers solar inverters for roof systems, major solar projects and off-grid systems, enabling SMA to provide a technically optimized inverter solution for all size categories and system types. Its range of services is complemented by a worldwide service network. The highly flexible manufacturing plants for solar inverters in Germany and North America have a capacity of approximately 11.5 GW a year. The SMA Group also operates a manufacturing plant for electromagnetic core components in Poland. Since 2008, SMA has been listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and also in the TecDAX index. In recent years, SMA has received numerous awards for its excellence as an employer and achieved first place in 2011 in the federal “Great Place to Work” competition. www.SMA-America.com

Conference attendees will be able to view the micro inverter, which is scheduled for release in 2012 and boasts high reliability and performance.

“SMA is proud to tailor its products and services to meet the needs of Canadian solar installers,” said Jurgen Krehnke, president of SMA Canada. “Solar Canada 2011 attendees will be able to view the latest SMA has to offer, including outstanding new inverters designed for grid-tied and off-grid configurations.”

Also on display during Solar Canada 2011 will be the Sunny Boy HF-US line of high-frequency, residential inverters. These devices make installation even easier while offering improved advantages like higher efficiency, faster field configurability for positive ground modules and integrated wireless communication.

Expanding upon the proven technology of its predecessor, the Sunny Island 5048-US, the off-grid Sunny Island 6048-US offers increased efficiencies and 20 percent more power output.

Products and services that will be showcased at SMA's booth (No. 802) include:

• Sunny Boy 240:  Available next year, the SMA micro inverter is ideal for roofs with multiple orientations, starter systems and where shading is unavoidable.
• Sunny Boy -US series: Assembled in Ontario, SMA has recently released temperature-hardened versions of the Sunny Boy 5000-US, 6000-US, 7000-US and 8000-US models, featuring an extended operating temperature range to -40 Celsius. 
• Sunny Boy HF-US:  Now shipping, the highly anticipated Sunny Boy HF-US is SMA's most installer-friendly inverter to date. Ideal for 2-3 kW solar arrays, it features a slim enclosure, reduced weight, modern graphic display and industry-leading CEC efficiencies of up to 97 percent.
• Sunny Island 6048-US:  The new Sunny Island 6048-US boasts a maximum efficiency of 96 percent and CEC-weighted efficiency of 94 percent. It can be paired with SMA’s Multicluster Box, making it ideal for off-grid PV systems up to 100 kW.

SMA’s Solar Canada 2011 offerings extend beyond the booth. Visitors can enhance their experience at this year’s conference by meeting with representatives from the SMA Solar Academy and Sunny PRO Club.

• SMA Solar Academy: The Solar Academy’s Sunny Boy 1 course promotes the highest standards in safety, installation and design. SMA will provide Ontario-focused instruction Dec. 4 to help you successfully navigate the Canadian Electrical Code.
• Sunny PRO Club: The Sunny PRO Club, a professional partnership that combines SMA's marketing and technical resources with installers' experience, is offering a day-long Regional Forum on Dec. 7 tailored for the Ontario solar market.

About SMA
SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA/FWB: S92) is the global market leader for solar inverters, the leading supplier of transformers and chokes, and a provider of innovative energy supply solutions for mass transit and main-line rail transportation. The SMA Group generated sales of €1.9 billion in 2010. It is headquartered in Niestetal, near Kassel, Germany, and is represented in 19 countries on four different continents. The Group employs a staff of over 5,300 worldwide, plus a number of temporary employees which varies on a seasonal basis. The multi award-winning product range covers solar inverters for roof systems, major solar projects and off-grid systems, enabling SMA to provide a technically optimized inverter solution for all size categories and system types. Its range of services is complemented by a worldwide service network. The highly flexible manufacturing plants for solar inverters in Germany and North America have a capacity of approximately 11.5 GW a year. The SMA Group also operates a manufacturing plant for electromagnetic core components in Poland. Since 2008, SMA has been listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and also in the TecDAX index. In recent years, SMA has received numerous awards for its excellence as an employer and achieved first place in 2011 in the federal “Great Place to Work” competition. www.SMA-Canada.ca

Conference attendees will be able to view the MV Power Platform, a 1.0-1.6 megawatt medium-voltage turnkey power solution that offers EPCs and utility companies the most cost-effective way to modularly install large-scale PV power converters.

Also on display will be the Sunny Boy HF-US line of high-frequency, residential inverters. These devices make installation even easier while offering improved advantages like higher efficiency, faster field configurability for positive ground modules and wireless communication.

Expanding upon the proven technology of its predecessor, the Sunny Island 5048-US, the off-grid Sunny Island 6048-US offers increased efficiencies and 20 percent more power output.

Attendees can also catch a sneak peek of the SMA micro inverter, schedule for release in 2012.

“From kilowatt to megawatt, SMA supplies the solar industry with innovative technology in every power class,” said Jurgen Krehnke, president and general manager of SMA America. “This year, Solar Power International attendees will be able to view the latest SMA has to offer, including outstanding new inverters designed for the residential, commercial and utility markets.”

Products and services that will be showcased at SMA's indoor and outdoor booths--#2927 (Hall E) and #201 OD (Parking Lot C), respectively--include:

• MV Power Platform: Located in SMA's outdoor booth, the MV Power Platform utility-scale solution includes two Sunny Central inverters; a medium-voltage transformer; optional DC or AC/DC disconnect cabinets; and a control and supply panel for power distribution to local loads and (optionally) field tracker motors.
• Sunny Boy HF: Now shipping, the highly anticipated Sunny Boy HF is SMA's most installer-friendly inverter to date. Ideal for 2-3 kW solar arrays, it features a slim enclosure, reduced weight, modern graphic display and industry-leading CEC efficiencies of up to 97 percent.
• Sunny Central CP: Also on display will be the Sunny Central CP inverter line, which produces 110 percent of rated output at temperatures below 25 Celsius, resulting in increased yields and a lower levelized cost of energy.
• Sunny Island 6048-US: The new Sunny Island 6048-US boasts a maximum efficiency of 96 percent and CEC-weighted efficiency of 94 percent. It can be paired with SMA’s Multicluster Box, making it ideal for off-grid PV systems up to 100 kW.
• SMA Micro Inverter: Available next year, the SMA Micro Inverter is ideal for roofs with multiple orientations, starter systems and where shading is unavoidable.
• SMA Solar Academy: Conference attendees can also gather more information about SMA's Solar Academy, an educational initiative in which solar professionals of all levels--from novice to expert--can learn about SMA products, code compliance and installation best practices.
• Sunny PRO Club: The Sunny PRO Club, a professional partnership that combines SMA's marketing and technical resources with installers' experience, will debut several new offerings at Solar Power International.

About SMA
The SMA Group, with sales of 1.9 billion euros in 2010, is the world market leader for solar inverters, a component that lies at the heart of every solar power system. Its headquarters is situated in Niestetal near Kassel and it also has 17 foreign subsidiaries situated on four continents. In 2010, the Corporate Group employed over 5,000 persons (including temporary staff). SMA produces a wide spectrum of inverter types, the optimal inverter for each type of solar module used and offers all the power classes required for solar power systems. The product portfolio includes both inverters for grid-connected solar power systems and stand-alone systems. Since 2008, the parent company SMA Solar Technology AG has been listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Securities Exchange (S92) and in the TecDAX. Over the past few years, SMA has received several awards for its outstanding performance as an employer and lately reached first place in the federal “Great Place to Work” competition. www.SMA-America.com

Since its founding in 1981, SMA has grown from a small German engineering firm for control systems into the world market and technology leader in PV inverters. During this time, SMA has repeatedly set trends in the field of photovoltaics and significantly contributed to the spread of renewable energy. "The company founders’ vision of a 100 % decentralized, renewable energy supply is what drives SMA forward to this day. Today, the global energy turnaround has become irreversible and is going to benefit the company long term”, states Pierre-Pascal Urbon, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of SMA.  One of the most important topics in the energy supply sector is integration of electricity from renewable sources into the power distribution grid. As smart plant and grid managers, solutions from SMA make an important contribution in addressing this challenge. “SMA is poised to help shape the worldwide energy supply change as a global energy management company", Urbon continues.

Against this background, SMA is also celebrating its service expertise. Right now, the largest service center for PV inverters worldwide is being erected at the Sandershäuser Berg industrial area. Beginning spring 2012, replacement devices from all over the world will be analyzed, tested and repaired in the new building which provides 258,000 square feet of floor space. SMA has a global network of 85 service sites in 19 countries. At the ultra-modern Sandershäuser Berg site, the company will yet again optimize customer service processes. This is aimed to ensure that excellent service with short response times will be maintained in the future, even as inverter shipments increase. In Germany, SMA devices are replaced within 24 hours, and in other countries within 48 hours. "The new service center at Sandershäuser Berg will provide a perfect infrastructure that will enable us to achieve further improvements with regard to speed, quality and costs", emphasizes Executive Vice President of Service, Souleymane Niang.

The new Service Center has not only been designed with optimum functionality, but also with a focus on sustainable and efficient energy usage. This concept includes a fully insulated shell with a wooden-frame construction and incorporates effective heat recovery while utilizing wasted heat from production. In addition, a photovoltaic plant with a power output of 1 Megawatt is being installed on the building’s roof.

“The ability to mix-and-match Sunny Boy inverters with the Sunny Tower increases design flexibility while providing leading reliability and world-class efficiencies,” said Jurgen Krehnke, president and general manager of SMA America and president of SMA Canada. “It also allows installers to apply their existing experience and tools in the residential market to attract commercial-grade projects.”

In addition to providing an exceptional degree of design flexibility and an increased energy harvest, the Sunny Tower allows installers to apply a decentralized approach to commercial systems, which results in less labor, reduced DC cabling, and lower operation and maintenance costs.

Sunny Tower features include a sealed electronics enclosure and rugged stainless-steel, outdoor-rated structure; Opticool™ temperature management system; and a modular design that eliminates the need for cost-prohibitive heavy machinery for installation. Prewired for three-phase utility interconnection, it has an integrated load-break-rated lockable AC/DC disconnect switch and fused-series string combiner. A 10-year warranty also is included.

The Sunny Boy 5000-US, 6000-US, 7000-US and 8000-US inverters offer class-leading efficiencies up to 97 percent. Their longevity is enhanced via SMA’s patented OptiCool™ active temperature-management system and rugged cast-aluminum, outdoor-rated enclosure. Automatic grid-voltage detection and an integrated DC disconnect switch simplify installation, ensuring safety while saving time. These models also feature galvanic isolation and can be used with all types of modules—crystalline as well as thin-film. Sunny Boy inverters include a 10-year factory warranty, with the ability to extend up to 20 years.

The Sunny Tower can be paired with the Sunny WebBox data logger, which tracks system performance. That data can then be transmitted by cable to the free SMA Sunny Portal, the world’s largest Web platform for monitoring, managing and presenting photovoltaic systems.

About SMA
The SMA Group, with sales of 1.9 billion euros in 2010, is the world market leader for solar inverters, a component that lies at the heart of every solar power system. Its headquarters is situated in Niestetal near Kassel and it also has 17 foreign subsidiaries situated on four continents. In 2010, the Corporate Group employed over 5,000 persons (including temporary staff). SMA produces a wide spectrum of inverter types, the optimal inverter for each type of solar module used and offers all the power classes required for solar power systems. The product portfolio includes both inverters for grid-connected solar power systems and stand-alone systems. Since 2008, the parent company SMA Solar Technology AG has been listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Securities Exchange (S92) and in the TecDAX. Over the past few years, SMA has received several awards for its outstanding performance as an employer and lately reached first place in the federal “Great Place to Work” competition. www.SMA-America.com / www.SMA-Canada.ca 

“These Regional Forums are just one example of SMA’s dedication to supporting and guiding the growth of the solar industry,” said Ciara Jones, Sunny PRO Club manager for SMA America and SMA Canada. “The events are designed to keep installers up-to-date on product information, new technologies and installation best practices so that they can be most effective in the field.”

Each Regional Forum will include exclusive technical training sessions and a workshop by the SMA Solar Academy. The Boost Your Profits: Best Practices for Residential Design training session provides an overview of tools—such as SMA’s Sunny Portal monitoring system, as well as Sunny Design and Solarchecker software—that help installers optimize their PV systems. Another training session, Grow Your Business: Commercial Systems Made Easy, explains how installers can apply their existing experience and knowledge in the residential market to expand into small commercial applications through decentralized PV system concepts. Finally, A New Standard in Residential Inverters: Sunny Boy HF is a hands-on Solar Academy workshop about these new high-frequency devices, which are ideal for 2-3kW solar arrays.

Rounding out the Regional Forum schedule is a Sunny PRO Club presentation—in  which attendees can learn how their sales and market effectiveness can improve through custom marketing strategies and support materials—as well as an open-forum Q&A session.

All meals will be provided at the day-long Regional Forums, which will conclude with a networking event each evening.

For more information about the Regional Forums and to register, please visit www.SMARegionalForums.com, email RegionalForums@SMA-America.com or call 877 506 1747. Space is limited and Sunny PRO Club members have first priority.

REGIONAL FORUM SCHEDULE
 
8/31/11, SACRAMENTO: Sheraton Grand Sacramento, 1230 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95814, www.sheraton.com/GrandSacramento
      
9/12/11, DENVER: Renaissance Denver Hotel, 3801 Quebec Street, Denver, CO 80207, www.renaissancedenver.com
*This Regional Forum also includes a tour of SMA America’s manufacturing facility in Denver.

9/16/11, PHOENIX: Marriott Phoenix Airport, 1101 North 44th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85008, www.marriott.com/Phoenix

10/6/11, SAN JOSE: San Jose Marriott, 301 South Market Street, San Jose, CA 95113, www.marriott.com/SanJose

11/9/11, SAN DIEGO: Location TBD

11/11/11, LONG BEACH: Marriott Long Beach, 4700 Airport Plaza Drive, Long Beach, CA 90815, www.marriott.com/LongBeach

12/2/11, PHILADELPHIA: Location TBD

12/7/11, TORONTO: Location TBD

About SMA
The SMA Group, with sales of 1.9 billion euros in 2010, is the world market leader for solar inverters, a component that lies at the heart of every solar power system. Its headquarters is situated in Niestetal near Kassel and it also has 17 foreign subsidiaries situated on four continents. In 2010, the Corporate Group employed over 5,000 persons (including temporary staff). SMA produces a wide spectrum of inverter types, the optimal inverter for each type of solar module used and offers all the power classes required for solar power systems. The product portfolio includes both inverters for grid-connected solar power systems and stand-alone systems. Since 2008, the parent company SMA Solar Technology AG has been listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Securities Exchange (S92) and in the TecDAX. Over the past few years, SMA has received several awards for its outstanding performance as an employer and lately reached first place in the federal “Great Place to Work” competition. www.SMA-America.com / www.SMA-Canada.ca 

Niestetal, August 12, 2011 – SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA/FWB: S92) benefited from its strong brand presence in the major solar markets worldwide and distinguished itself markedly from its closest competitors. In the second quarter of 2011, SMA doubled its inverter output sold compared with the first three months of the year. In the first half of 2011, SMA sold an inverter output of 3.1 GW (Q1 – Q2 2010: 3.1 GW).

The SMA Managing Board believes global newly installed photovoltaic capacity for the first half of 2011 to be below the previous year’s level. “The debate surrounding the expansion of photovoltaic energy has deeply unsettled end-customers in major solar markets and led to a reduction in their willingness to invest”, states Pierre-Pascal Urbon, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of SMA. However, the fundamental data for the solar industry has improved over the last few months. “The broad social consensus that now surrounds the intensified expansion of photovoltaic energy, the favorable interest level and the significantly reduced specific costs of constructing a solar power plant compared with the beginning of the year are good conditions for a significant rise in global demand in the second half of the year”, says Pierre-Pascal Urbon. The SMA Managing Board thus confirms its sales and earnings guidance for the current fiscal year – of a sales range between €1.5 billion and €1.9 billion and an EBIT corridor of €315 million to €475 million (EBIT margin of 21 % to 25 %).

In the second quarter of 2011, SMA grew at a faster rate than its next largest competitor. With sales totaling €715 million in the first half of 2011, SMA is the global market leader for solar inverters (Q1 – Q2 2010: €815.8 million). SMA’s excellent positioning in growing foreign markets is also reflected in the company’s export ratio. In the first six months of the year, SMA generated 56.3 % of its sales in countries outside Germany (Q1 – Q2 2010: 36.4 %). The Medium Power Solutions segment was the key driving force for sales in the reporting period with a 73.1 % share of total sales (Q1 – Q2 2010: 85.7 %). Business with Sunny Central inverters, which are used in major solar projects, developed in a very pleasing manner. Sales in the High Power Solutions segment climbed year-on-year by more than 66 % to €170.6 million (Q1 – Q2 2010: €102.4 million).

Although EBIT has recovered since the first quarter of 2011 due to the improved sales figures, it remains considerably below the record high figure achieved in the previous year. In the first half of 2011, SMA generated EBIT of €103.7 million (Q1 – Q2 2010: €219.9 million). This is equivalent to an EBIT margin of 14.5 %, yet again recording a percentage in double-digits. This underscores SMA’s profound ability to adapt and respond to market needs quickly in the event of rapidly rising demand while keeping cost-efficiency in mind. Consolidated net profit amounted to €73.5 million (Q1 – Q2 2010: €158.2) and earnings per share came to €2.12 (Q1 – Q2 2010: €4.56).

SMA’s business model is technology-driven and non-capital-intensive compared with other stages of the value-added chain. In view of the anticipated rise in demand in the second half of the year, SMA has increased its working capital as planned. At June 30, 2011, working capital stood at €340.6 million (at December 31, 2010: €284.6 million). That is equivalent to 18.7 % of sales over the last twelve months. With an equity ratio of 57.0 % and net cash of €307.8 million (at December 31, 2010: €523.4 million), SMA exhibits a very sound balance sheet structure as at June 30, 2011.

The half-yearly financial report from January to June 2011 is available on the web site at www.SMA.de/IR/FinancialReports.



About SMA
SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA/FWB: S92) is the worldwide market leader for photovoltaic inverters, a leading supplier of transformers and chokes, and a provider of innovative energy supply solutions for mass transit and main-line rail transportation. The SMA Group generated sales of €1.9 billion in 2010. It is headquartered in Niestetal, near Kassel, Germany, and is represented in 18 countries on four different continents. The Group employs a staff of over 6,500 worldwide (including temporary employees). The multi award-winning product range covers solar inverters for roof systems, major solar projects and off-grid systems, enabling SMA to provide a technically optimized inverter solution for all size categories and system types. Its range of services is complemented by a worldwide service network. The highly flexible manufacturing plants for solar inverters in Germany and North America have a capacity of approximately 11.5 GW a year. The SMA Group also operates a manufacturing plant for electromagnetic core components in Poland. Since 2008, SMA has been listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and also in the TecDAX index. In recent years, SMA has received numerous awards for its excellence as an employer and achieved first place in 2011 in the federal “Great Place to Work” competition.

SMA Solar Technology AG
Sonnenallee 1
34266 Niestetal
Germany

Head of Corporate Communications:
Anja Jasper
Phone +49 561 9522-28 05
Presse@SMA.de

Press contact:
Susanne Henkel
Press Officer
Phone +49 561 9522-11 24
Fax +49 561 9522-11 03
Presse@SMA.de

Investor Relations:
Stephanie Kniep
Director Investor Relations
Phone +49 561 9522-22 22
Fax +49 561 9522-22 23
ir@SMA.de

Julia Damm
Investor Relations Officer
Phone +49 561 9522-11 64

Disclaimer:
This press release serves only as information and does not constitute an offer or invitation to subscribe for, acquire, hold or sell any securities of SMA Solar Technology AG (the "Company") or any present or future subsidiary of the Company (together with the Company, the "SMA Group") nor should it form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, any contract to purchase or subscribe for any securities in the Company or any member of the SMA Group or commitment whatsoever. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States of America absent registration or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
This press release can contain future-oriented statements. Future-oriented statements are statements which do not describe facts of the past. They also include statements about our assumptions and expectations. These statements are based on plans, estimations and forecasts which the executive board of SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA or company) has available at this time. Future-oriented statements are therefore only valid on the day on which they are made. Future-oriented statements by nature contain risks and elements of uncertainty. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors can lead to considerable differences between the actual results, the financial position, the development or the performance of the corporation and the estimates given here. These factors include those which SMA has discussed in published reports. These reports are available on the SMA website at www.SMA.de. The company accepts no obligation whatsoever to update these future-oriented statements or to adjust them to future events or developments.