Kaco New Energy opens inverter manufacturing plant in Texas

German inverter manufacturer Kaco New Energy has opened a manufacturing plant in San Antonio, Texas.

The company held a launch event Dec. 10 attended by company executives from Kaco offices around the world. Representatives from green energy provider OCI Solar Power, utility CPS Energy and the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce also attended the event.

The 3,700 square meter factory, which was recently built, is designed to serve markets anywhere in the U.S. The company claims that it has created 72 jobs by opening the factory.

The Kaco plant will also supply inverters for a 400MW solar power project across five independent power stations in San Antonio that are being built for CPS Energy.

Ralph Hofman, President of Kaco New Energy, said at the launch ceremony: "Kaco New Energy and its consortium partners have now successfully completed Alamo I, the first 41MW system in San Antonio, and we are already building the next phase of solar power plants for CPS Energy. Our US manufacturing plant in Texas is fully established to provide Kaco New Energy inverters anywhere in North America. We are very proud to provide American-made products to our customers."

The San Antonio power station will utilize Kaco’s digitally controlled 1.1MW Integrated Power Station (IPS) products, each of which includes two inverters, medium voltage transformers, and DC and AC disconnect devices, mounted together on a base. The IPS can also be used as a 550kW standalone outdoor unit. The company plans to launch a 2MW version “in the near future.”

The five plants in San Antonio will have a total capacity of 400 MW and are expected to be completed in 2016. The first phase, the 41 MW Alamo I, was connected to the grid in November this year, providing clean electricity to 7,000 homes.