In this episode of The Pitch, Solar Builder editor Chris Crowell interviews SMA America’s Tyson Schoelzel and Hasan Taylor about the Sunny Highpower PEAK3 — a 1500-V high-density string inverter that will soon be manufactured and skidded in the United States with a Create Energy partnership that enables domestic content bonus eligibility.

The discussion focuses on the specific ways PEAK3 reduces O&M cost, improves uptime, eases interconnection modeling, and supports community solar and utility-scale projects in the 5–100 MW range with a virtual-central skidded architecture. The SMA team explains how a single-MPPT architecture improves reliability and supports high-current bifacial modules without early clipping — and why the PEAK3’s 25-year design life and OptiCool thermal system matter for long-term project economics.

They also dig into repowering, explaining how the PEAK3 Flex can match legacy AC voltages without transformer rework or restudies — a key advantage as older fleets age out. On the control side, the team walks through Data Manager M + Smart Connect for remote monitoring, smart-connected O&M, zero-export functionality, and utility-model support — all critical as pricing complexity and grid constraints rise.

Timestamps

0:30 - Pain points for developers right now, and how PEAK3 helps

3:07 - Typical PEAK3 projects

4:30 - Skidding PEAK3 for larger sites "virtual-central architecture"

5:23 - A peek at the PEAK3 spec sheet

6:34 - Repowering and matching legacy voltages

9:08 - 25-year warranty, OptiCool & reliability

11:50 - Advantage of single MPPT

12:53 - Data Manager M and Smart Connect

17:04 - Storage PEAK3 coming?

Learn more about the PEAK3: https://www.sma-america.com/products/solarinverters/sunny-highpower-peak3

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