Fronius establishes subsidiary in Greece
Photovoltaic system in Thessaly, Greece.
On 4th July 2016, the 19th subsidiary of the Fronius Solar Energy Division opened its doors for the first time. A two-strong team of highly qualified colleagues will be cultivating the Greek market from the company's base in Thessaloniki. Over the last ten years Fronius has been able to build up a clear picture of the photovoltaics sector in Greece, as part of which the needs of the system owners have been thoroughly analysed. Local service and support as well as technical expertise in the region are Fronius specialities that have brought success around the world: and are now available in Greece too.
Repowering as a route to success
"Until 2012, Greece was a major photovoltaics market," explains Area Sales Manager Hannes Wendeler. "Some of these PV systems are now coming out of warranty, and many of the inverter manufacturers from those days are no longer in business or do not offer any technical support services. This is a huge opportunity for the Repowering service from Fronius," continues Wendeler.
Repowering is an efficient solution for the modernisation of a PV system. Old inverters, including those from other manufacturers, are simply replaced with Fronius units, both increasing the performance of the PV system and bringing it up to date with the very latest technology too.
A new inverter costs the same or often less than having the device serviced. "We reckon that a significant amount of our business will be generated through Repowering," says Wendeler. Owners of photovoltaic systems with inverters from manufacturers who no longer exist or who no longer offer a technical support service stand to benefit the most from the Fronius solution.
Clear objective: market number 1 in Greece
Demand in Greece is primarily for the Fronius Primo1 and Fronius Symo2 inverters. "Our objective is clear: we want to be the market leader in Greece. To achieve our goals, we are actively targeting project developers and providing the service and support that's needed. We are confident that this approach will bring the success to take us another step closer to 24 hours of sun," predicts Wendeler.
A stock of replacement units allows Fronius Greece to act extremely quickly, leaving system owners to enjoy lower transport costs and quicker turnaround times. Fronius Greece is also responsible for customers in the Republic of Cyprus.
The Greek PV market
Feed-in tariffs, which at one time were heavily over-subsidised, have since been cut to 6 cents per kilowatt hour. Self-consumption was made legal in Greece in summer 2015 and a net metering programme was launched. This is another area in which Fronius sees a great deal of potential.
