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Featuring the participation of business giants and moderated by Suncast’s CEO, Energyear 2024 hosted the discussion on software and hardware technologies for the Chilean energy sector.
Incorporating new products, improvements, affordability and innovation were some of the debate topics mentioned in the Energyear 2024 technology panel, one of the leading renewable energy conferences in Latin America.
The company Suncast was a sponsor at the conference and represented Chile with Constanza Levicán, CEO and Founder, who moderated the conversation segment “Chilean renewable energy markets suppliers’ opportunities and updates”. The international suppliers in the area: Goodwe, Longi, Tongwei Solar, TBEA and SMA shared their vision for the technological development of devices and Artificial Intelligence that will be implemented in the Chilean energy market.
Lucas Ponce, Product and Solution Manager at Longi’s Utility Business section, said that the company’s headquarters in China aim to better exploitation of solar energy.
“There are two essential innovation standards: first, provide continuous improvements, more efficient products that deliver better performance. But we must also continue to meet the need for these products to be on the market as affordable as possible," he explained.
On the other hand, Daniel Rosende, Managing Director at SMA, highlighted the importance of the device’s service life, assuring that it can negatively affect the company’s financial model if not considered.
“If we analyze the performance of a photovoltaic plant, 70% of OPEX costs are related to the power electronics. Availability is the number of hours that the equipment is without failure during the year, if a supplier does not have that focus, the entire financial model and all the performance that the facility may have can go into the red," said the representative of the German company.
The key role of Artificial Intelligence in the performance of photovoltaic panels
During the conversation, the founder of Suncast asked the panelists about their focus on technology development and if they have considered applying Artificial Intelligence.
Felipe Rutllant, TBEA’s LATAM Business Manager, noted that Artificial Intelligence is without a doubt a tool that is benefiting them. “We have already implemented it on our devices, which has allowed us to identify problems early, optimizing the projects’ operation and performance”.
On his part, Guilherme Nienow, Goodwe’s Key Account Manager, affirmed that they already use Artificial Intelligence in their devices’ protection systems. “What we have in the equipment is hardware which has Artificial Intelligence software that monitors the strings to protect direct currents that it knows are much more harmful than the alternating current’s arc”.
Meanwhile, Raquel Chenyan Luo, Tongwei Solar’s American Zone Sales representative, said that Artificial Intelligence is an ally to manufacturing. "The truth is that in the production process of the Tongwei factory, Artificial Intelligence helped us a lot in the selection process and in the review of the photovoltaic panels to analyze if there were any fissures in them. Artificial Intelligence has helped us collect data from damages giving us a final report”.
To conclude, a key analysis shared by the participants of the international companies is that Artificial Intelligence offers a valuable resource, as it optimizes processes and improves operation efficiency. In this context, Chile’s energy market is recognised as possessing significant growth and innovation potential. Nevertheless, the speakers emphasized the importance of continuing to explore and apply leading technologies for a more sustainable and competitive future.
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