International inverter maker Fimer has joined forces with Australian energy management software company SwitchDin to “future proof” its products to the rapidly changing rules – and market opportunities – around behind the meter resources like rooftop solar.
The partnership will, in particular, make Fimer inverters compliant with new rules in South Australia – and likely to be implemented across the rest of the National Electricity Market – requiring strict new technology standards that allow for rooftop solar systems to be switched off remotely if asked to by the market operator.
Fimer said this week that its current range of inverters had been integrated with SwitchDin’s technology and that its new three-phase range, alongside the REACT 2 hybrid inverter and energy storage solution, were being tested for compatibility in April.
“By partnering with SwitchDin, Fimer will be able to address emerging regulatory requirements and take advantage of new opportunities such as dynamic export limits, which allow solar system owners to avoid strict solar feed-in limits in favour of more flexible interaction with the distribution networks,” the company said.
SwitchDin, which was founded in 2014, has gone from strength to strength in the Australian market using its DER integration technology to provide visibility and control of the booming rooftop solar market, and the emerging market for home battery storage and electric vehicles.
One of the company’s key contributions to Australia’s rapidly changing electricity grid has been in helping to establish end-user friendly virtual power plants, microgrids and advanced network services incorporating a range of behind the meter resources.
SwtichDin has also been working with a number of industry partners – Solar Analytics, GreenSync, Enphase Energy, Redback Technologies, Edge Electrons, Fronius, sonnen, Tesla, Wattwatchers and SMA – to put together a DER Visibility & Monitoring Best Practice Guide, to help solve the challenge of allowing more solar on the grid without destabilising it.
In South Australia, where mandatory inverter requirements were introduced in September of 2020 under the state’s Smarter Homes initiative, SwitchDin is one of the “relevant agents” that can be nominated for the remote switching off and switching back on of rooftop solar systems, as the new rule requires.
Fimer said using SwitchDin’s Droplet controller in conjunction with its Stormcloud platform would allow Fimer inverter customers to comply with South Australia’s rapid-shutdown regulations but offer advanced whole-of-system monitoring, energy management and alert functions.
“It’s fantastic to be partnering with SwitchDin to offer solutions to our installers and end-customers,” said Fimer’s technical sales lead Warren Merritt.
“We are starting to see new and emerging rules or regulatory controls that are being imposed to address the high penetration of solar energy in some areas and this will potentially reduce a potential customers’ desire to invest in solar.
“Fimer is excited to be working closely with SwitchDin to ensure a smooth and reliable transition to a cleaner energy grid.”
Andrew Mears, the founder and CEO of SwitchDin, said the addition of Fimer’s inverters to the company’s growing family of integrated devices was great news for consumers.
“We are proud to be partnering Fimer to enhance the value of their technology to their customers,” Mears said.
Sophie is editor of One Step Off The Grid and deputy editor of its sister site, Renew Economy. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.
