SMA America Expands in Latin America Amid Solar Industry’s Growth in the Region

Despite the pandemic, the Latin American solar energy market continued to grow, pushing SMA to reach a historic milestone: selling a cumulative capacity of 2.5 gigawatts of solar PV technology with SMA system solutions across the continent.

Most of the sales comprise the Sunny Highpower PEAK3 series, Sunny Tripower CORE1, Sunny Central and Medium Voltage Power Station (MVPS), primarily shipped to Chile and Brazil. Innovation, O&M support and high quality solutions have combined to drive this success.

SMA now seeks to further support that growth and celebrate its 40th anniversary by increasing its team, including technical support and marketing for the entire region. In Brazil, SMA will shift to a wholly owned subsidiary, strengthening its relationships with customers and partners, and increase its presence—both in Brazil and throughout Latin America.

As part of that effort, SMA has hired a new country manager for Brazil. André Gellers arrives with the mission of increasing regional exposure and focusing on cultural diversity.

“My career is permeated by actions in the socio-environmental sector, and this brings an important intrinsic value to the organization, in terms of both continuity and sustainability,” says Gellers. “I have admired SMA since first starting as an integrator in the Brazilian PV sector. The company has been dedicated to the sector for 40 years, creating advanced solutions and taking good care of its customers. This perfectly aligns with my way of thinking and acting.”

Gellers is coming at a time when the growth of the photovoltaic sector in the region has been led mainly by Chile and Brazil, where by 2019 investments in renewable energy had already increased by 400% and 74%, respectively.

SMA Sunny Highpower PEAK3

“The growth reflects the great partnerships we’ve developed across South America,” said Daniel Rosende, managing director for SMA South America. “Both the efforts toward sustainability among LATAM countries and the partners we’ve had the privilege of working with have been incredible. We’re celebrating the momentum of solar in the region, which has also been achieved through great teamwork, as much as our own success.”

Several SMA inverters have been notable performers. For instance, the PEAK3 is highly customizable thanks to the company’s cross-sector energy management platform ennexOS. The solution is capable of centralized and decentralized designs, in combination with the project-specific DC Combiner Boxes. As the third generation of the Sunny Tripower product family, the CORE1 is revolutionizing the world of commercial inverters with its design. Its highly integrated nature significantly reduces installation time and maximizes return on investment for SMA customers, driving both their success and the company’s.

SMA forecasts that success will continue. A report by the International Renewable Energy Agency supports such a forecast, showing that “unsubsidized renewable energy is now the most affordable power source for many locations and markets, with cost reductions set to continue into the next decade.”