Grid operator Fluvius is taking extra steps against failing solar panels

The growing number of solar panels leads to a record number of complaints about failing inverters. Network manager Fluvius wants to tackle the problem with a network checker, thicker overhead cables and new distribution cabins.

If solar panels supply large amounts of power to the electricity grid in good weather, the capacity of that grid sometimes risks not being sufficient. In such a situation, inverters, which convert the electricity from solar panels into usable power, go into safety mode to avoid overvoltage. The result is that they can no longer produce electricity and inject it into the grid.

At the grid operator Fluvius, this translated into a record number of 5,042 complaints about failing inverters last year. This remains relatively limited – Fluvius received this last year for a total of 925,000 solar panels. The grid operator announced additional steps on Wednesday to limit the problems as much as possible.

In the short term, Fluvius is committed to, among other things, the use of thicker overhead cables that should better cope with increasing electrification. It will also use data from digital meters to better analyze voltage problems.

From the end of April, customers can use a network checker on the Fluvius site to check whether complaints have been registered in the area. Anyone who finds that their inverter has failed can also request compensation on the site if the problem is not resolved within three months.

In the medium term, Fluvius wants to avoid inverter failures by installing new distribution cabins and by carrying out any structural work on the grid. The grid operator announced last year that it wants to invest around 11 billion euros in the electricity grid over the next ten years. Fluvius wants to set aside 4 billion of that amount to prepare the grid for the growth of renewable energy, electric cars and heat pumps. The group wants to strengthen 40 percent of the low-voltage network, 13 percent of the medium-voltage network and a third of the distribution cabinets by the end of 2032. “That should also solve the problem of inverter failures in its entirety,” it said.