SMA announced today the development of a new solar inverter production facility in Denver, Colorado. The annual production capacity of the new facility will be around one gigawatt with an option for expansion.
The new US facility will produce the Sunny Boy, Sunny Central and Sunny Island solar power inverter product lines for the North American market. The plant will become the largest production facility for solar inverters in the US. Denver will become the first international production site for SMA, which has headquarters in Niestetal and Kassel, in Germany.
According to Günther Cramer, Chief Executive Officer of SMA Solar Technology AG, the company expects the US market to become the largest solar market globally in the medium term. The new facility will see reductions in transportation and interim storage costs as well as currency exchange risks.
SMA will employ a staff of 700 in Denver and production is planned to begin around the middle of 2010. The investment for the new production line and building enhancements is estimated at around AUD 48.6 million dollars (at current exchange rates).
“The decision by SMA to build a production facility in Denver is excellent news for our region and will provide a welcome boost to our local economy” said Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.
The SMA Group generated sales of more than AUD 1.1 billion during 2008 and employs a staff of over 3,500 globally.
Companies involved in the production of solar power components are increasingly setting up manufacturing operations in the USA. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Australia, which seems to have a habit of scaring off solar power investment from overseas.
