ABB India : achieves cumulative sales of 1 GW of solar inverters

Bengaluru, February 24, 2015: ABB India became the first company to reach sales of a cumulative capacity of 1GW solar inverters. This milestone was marked today with the roll out of an order for Tata Power Solar's project for Kiran Energy Solar Power. ABB India commenced local manufacturing of solar inverters in 2012 and has since grown in partnership with key industry customers.

Technology leadership complemented with competent indigenization and reliable service, helped ABB India to quickly achieve and maintain pole position in the market over the last three years. The cumulative installed base for central inverters in India reached 3GW in 2014.

"Despite having the fifth largest generation capacity in the world, a third of our population has no access to electricity. We hope to be a key component in India's solar powered future through our solutions spanning the entire solar value chain," said Bazmi Husain, Managing Director, ABB India. "The ambitious target set for solar power generation capacity in the country - 100GW by 2022 - makes it imperative to leverage all avenues available, be it 300 days of sunshine or opting for efficient and quality components deployed across solar projects."

Changes were made in ABB's product design keeping in mind the local requirements like demanding environments of high temperatures, dust and humidity. Solar power has great potential to lead the charge of renewables and is rapidly approaching grid parity in many countries. It is emerging to be a key contributor in the energy mix and the government's drive to provide access to electricity for all. This positions ABB India well in an industry that is set for 10 percent plus annual growth in the country.

"Being an early adopter of the latest inverter technology, we collaborated with ABB India from their initial years. Their understanding of the market and reliable product suite has made them a valuable partner in our operations," said Dr. Arul Shanmugasundram, EVP Projects and Chief Technology Officer, Tata Power Solar. "We look forward to a more comprehensive association in the coming years."

ABB is the leading global supplier of solar photovoltaic (PV) inverters, which play a key role in converting the sun's energy into electric current. Solar inverters convert solar power direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC) for transmission and distribution. ABB solar inverters improve reliability, efficiency and ease of installations. The inverters range from 100 kW to 1,000 kW and are optimized for cost-efficient multi-megawatt power plants. One gigawatt (1 billion watts) is enough to power up to ~750,000 households, as per western averages.

Pushing the renewables envelope, ABB is extending a technological partnership with the pioneering Solar Impulse. On its maiden round-the-world journey - without using a drop of fuel - the solar powered plane stops over in Ahmedabad and Varanasi early this March. This endeavour is not only about pushing the boundaries of aviation but of innovation and what solar power can make possible for the human race, a natural extension of ABB's ambition of power and productivity for a better world.

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 140,000 people.

For more information please contact:

Corporate Communications, ABB India Ltd.,

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