The Main Event – A look back at SPI 2014

The lights shined bright and the excitement flowed from the center of the ring—Solar Power International 2014 attendees flocked to The Main Event in Las Vegas to see SMA’s line of champion inverters. From October 21–23, the Las Vegas strip embraced solar power to take in the industry’s latest and greatest.

SMA’s boxing-themed booth, in recognition of the famous fights enjoyed in the host city, showcased the top fighters in our lineup of inverter-based solutions: the Sunny Boy TL-US with Secure Power Supply, Sunny Tripower TL-US, MLX 60, Utility Power System featuring the Sunny Central 2000-US and the industry’s top corner man, operations and maintenance.

In the ring

More than glitz and glamour, The Main Event boxing ring held round-the-clock presentations covering each solution featured at the show. With the ring of the bell, presenters educated audiences on the championship qualities of each new SMA offering.

After each presentation, experts took to the booth to dive into details and answer questions from the crowd. Among the hot topics: SMA’s residential Rapid Shutdown System for 2014 NEC 690.12 compliance, new Sunny Boy TL-US with Secure Power Supply models (7,000 and 7,700 watts) and the wow-inducing Utility Power System for the next generation of utility-scale solar plants.

Thought leadership on display

Our team was also found outside the tradeshow floor, contributing to panel discussions and educational sessions to drive productive dialog across our industry. Members of our Applications Engineering and Global Product Management teams were sharing their technical expertise and experience with audiences eager to envision the solar industry of tomorrow.

The Main (outside) Event

The first and last thing attendees saw was the SMA Solar Sprinter van sitting prominently outside the convention center. More than just a place to show off SMA’s technology, the Solar Sprinter offered a reprieve from the hustle-and-bustle of the show’s main floor and a place to get fresh air and a re-charge, thanks to the popular free cell phone charging station powered by the van’s Secure Power Supply.

Visitors to the Solar Sprinter were also greeted with fresh popcorn and chilled bottled water, made possible by solar power. After a long day inside, a little fresh air and change of scenery went a long way for SPI attendees.

Until next year

SPI 2014 was a tremendous event; after one of the best tradeshow weeks in memory, the SMA team is already looking forward to SPI 2015 in Anaheim. Any city featuring The Happiest Place on Earth (especially in sunny Southern California) only means good things for next year’s show.