Interview with Andelko Patrcevic, Key Account Manager Eastern Europe Diehl AKO Photovoltaics – exhibitor at the South-East European Solar Exhibition – 28/30 March 2012

Which are your most significant products?

Diehl AKO has more than 40 years experience in the production of high end electronics for the appliance industry. We used this experience in order to make the PLATINIUM inverters, the industry standard for quality, reliability and stability. Guaranteed to perform even in the toughest environmental conditions, our inverters continuously provide the highest efficiency levels along with innovative design, intuitive user interfaces and data communication options.

In 2012 we will introduce our new three-phase TL3 inverter in the range of 8 to 12 kW. This inverter will have once again highest level of efficiency, quality and flexibility. You will have the opportunity to learn more about this high end inverter and our new monitoring systems at the RES exhibition in Sofia in March next year.
How is your business organized in Bulgaria ?

As we are in the progress of entering the Bulgarian market we aim to have 4 to 5 strong partners, who can differentiate themselves with a high quality product on the local market. We are able to ship the inverters to any customer from Germany with shortest lead times. A well-established knowledge transfer and strong support by our service team enables the partners to solve service issues fast and proficient.

Which of your products are most popular on the local PV market ?

Since the Bulgarian PV Market is mainly driven by large scale PV plants in the range of 2-5 MW and bigger our PLATINUM 22 000 TL is a very attractive inverter. This high efficiency string inverter with 3MPP-Tracker combines the advantages of a decentralized solution with a high power of 24 kWp and an efficiency of 98 %. The easy installation of the device shortens the start-up period and the requirements on qualification of the installation and service staff. Especially the cost-yield ratio for this inverter is extraordinary, which makes the PLATINUM 22 000 TL the ideal solution for large scale PV plants for any investor.

Do you have any specific Marketing strategy for the South-East European market?

The market is developing and we see that there is a huge interest and potential but not so much experience yet. New market requirements like energy management or the medium voltage directive are topics which will be discussed in South East Europe in future as well as they are this year in Germany. Diehl AKO will give our partners and their customers a specific training program to improve their knowledge. Together with our partners we will start 2012 in several Balkan countries seminars for different topics.

What do you think will be the future of photovoltaic technologies in the next 5 years ?

From the market point of view I think in the next couple of years the market will consolidate and overcapacity will force the producer to lower costs even more. Only the manufacturer with a strong ability to adapt to the fast changing market will survive. The next step for photovoltaics will be for sure grid-parity. With continuing falling costs for photovoltaic components I expect grid parity in some southern European countries by 2014. By then Photovoltaics will be spread to almost all countries of the globe and a decentralized energy supply will solve the energy problems we have in some developing countries. By then we will have better storage solutions. Cheaper and more efficient batteries will enable an independent decentralized energy supply without the need of feed-in-tariffs. But not only batteries will be an issue solved; I hope by then we will have a better European grid where for example energy produced in South East Europe by photovoltaic will be stored in big storage plants in Norway.

The intelligent use of the energy will be managed by a smart home system, where the so called "prosumer" will produce its own energy from the photovoltaic plant and consume it. This system will decide whether the produced energy will be consumed immediately, stored in either batteries or the e-car or feed into the grid and sold for actual price. We already work on such smart home solutions and I am sure you will have the opportunity to get a lot of innovative products from Diehl Controls in next 5 years; not only for photovoltaic, but for energy solutions overall. So I am looking quite positive in the future and I am looking forward to the challenges and opportunities we have to meet.


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