[algo_trader]

Yes. The original commenter is a bit behind the times. There is also reliability advantages.

> new(er) GaN(or SiC) DC/DC buck conversion

Can you share guide lines about costs?

For comparison, utility scale AC inverters for PV are ~$5-$10/kW

[tomas789]

Original commenter might be a bit behind on many things but this is actually my day job.

Do you have a source for the reliability claim? There are so many good old transformers deployed around the world. Many of them working for 10s of years without a replacement. I'd be suspicious that a buck converter will have longer MTBF than oil submerged transformer.

Also, I don't see why it is mentioned here but NREL estimates the cost of grid scale inverters (for installations of 100 MW) to be 5-10x more than what was mentioned. [1]

[1] https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy22osti/83586.pdf

[algo_trader]

> but this is actually my day job.

You are probably more knowledgable than me. I am just here for the cake.

However, AFAIK the most fault prone components in PV are inverters and (where applicable) transformers.

> 5-10x more than what was mentioned.

This was my mistake. I started with 5c/W and missed a decimal place.

None of this addresses the key issue - you mentioned 10% loss for a simple DC converter, and the next commenter [1] mentioned the newer generation of far superior alternatives.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37260441