Service Technicians bringing Solar Power to Asia Pacific

We want to share a few experiences from our colleagues who have recently been in Japan and Taiwan to provide field service support. 

Technical support in Taiwan

In November 2013 I travelled back to my hometown in Taiwan and I had the opportunity to visit a 441.6kWp site located in a rural area in Taiwan named Yunlin County. It is one of the least developed areas on the West Coast but is an area rich in agriculture with abundant waters. Almost all the raw supplies in Taiwan are distributed from this small agricultural land.

The site I visited consists of 22 SMA Sunny Tripower 20000TLEE inverters with 216 230W PV panels on top of the roof of a chicken barn. The installation company had done a brilliant job on the wiring and the placement of the equipment. The working environment of the chicken farm was quite challenging. Heat, flies and the (distinguished!) rural smell are just some of the conditions SMA Service has to cope with in the field.

It was great to see many relatives whom I haven’t seen for years. I enjoyed many pastimes with my family too. A childhood favourite is the night market, which is only held once a week, where people sell all sorts of food on their trollies and encourage you to play games like darts, pinball machines etc. My favourite food is the charcoal-grilled chicken bottom (which most people would probably be too scared to eat!), but the special sauce that accompanies the meat made the food super awesome. This is a must-try if you do visit Taiwan.

Patty Wu

Patty Wu, Service Contact Manager at SMA Australia (see also photo above).

Commissioning Sunny Centrals around Japan

Last year I had the opportunity to work with SMA Japan for a few months to assist them with the commissioning of Sunny Central inverters. The highlight of my visit was when I helped commission part of the largest power plant in Japan. The 70MW power plant is located right next to Sakurajima, an active volcano that erupts almost every day!

Working on a large-scale plant like this in Japan was very different. I know safety is of utmost importance in our industry, but in Japan it’s over the top! Project managers force all the workers to exercise and attend a safety meeting every morning. They also insist that everyone identifies potential dangers by pointing and yelling out aloud so other people around you are informed. Frequently on site I would hear shouts of “Steps! Danger! Possibility of tripping over and splitting your head open”.

I was also able to enjoy some local delicacy. Some nights I would enjoy a Shochu for a night cap with some Kibinago sashimi while pondering about life, and another night I had an excellent bowl of tonkotsu ramen with an icy cold Premium Malt from the tap. Food is good in Japan but my favourite is Onsen.

Tsugu Suzuki

I also treated myself to a dip in a natural hot spring in the middle of a Japanese garden, listening to the water trickling down the bamboo features. I can’t think of a better way to relax after a hard day out in the field.

Tsugu Suzuki, Technical Service Specialist at SMA Australia

Background

The Regional Competence Centre (RCC) in the Asia Pacific Region (APAC) is headed out of SMA Australia, based in Sydney. The RCC serves as the connection between SMA headquarters and local subsidiaries, and is the extension of the local service capabilities with the primary role of consulting and supporting local competency centres. SMA Australia supports local SMA subsidiaries in the region such as SMA Thailand, SMA Japan and SMA India.