Centre Mandates Labeling & Voltage Standards for Up to 100 kW Solar Inverters

The Central Government, in consultation with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), has specified new output voltage requirements for various grid-connected solar inverters under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.

According to the regulation, the following output voltages have been set for inverters of different capacities:

• 230 V AC, 50 Hz for single-phase systems,
• up to and including 415 V AC, 50 Hz for three-phase grid-connected solar inverters without storage, with rated output power of up to and including 100 kW.
• These systems fall under the scope of IS 17980:2022 / IEC 62891:2020.

The notification states that, for the Act, any such appliance or class of appliances being manufactured or imported in India must display the required particulars on labels, in the manner specified through regulations issued by the Bureau.

Further, exercising the powers conferred by clause (a) of section 14 of the Energy Conservation Act, the Central Government—again in consultation with BEE—has also specified energy consumption standards for solar inverters.

These standards apply to products having an output voltage of 230 V AC, 50 Hz for single-phase and up to and including 415 V AC, 50 Hz for three-phase grid-connected solar inverters with rated capacity up to and including 100 kW, manufactured or imported in India.

Govt Aligning with ALMM expansion to inverters

This is a timely notification, especially since many companies like Waaree Energies are now looking to expand their inverter manufacturing capacity from 3 GW to 4 GW per annum. The company plans to make the first 3 GW operational within this fiscal year and the remaining 1 GW in the next.

Companies such as Premier Energies have also expanded their portfolio into the solar inverter manufacturing business. Previously, the company completed two acquisitions in the inverter and transformer businesses—the first being the acquisition of KSolare, an Indian inverter manufacturer.

Premier Energies is attempting to make a mark in the Chinese-dominated industry. So far, Indian companies have mostly imported inverters and used white-labeled products. This creates an opportunity for Indian companies to build a new segment that is growing rapidly. It further plans to enter the residential market first and offer inverters together with its modules as bundled products.