SMA Australia has appointed Sam Wiggins as Managing Director as part of a new dual leadership structure designed to strengthen its focus on the large scale renewable energy market.
The move reflects SMA Australia’s continued commitment to supporting the country’s evolving energy landscape, particularly as demand grows for large-scale solar, battery storage, and grid-supporting technologies.
The company, part of SMA Solar Technology AG, has played a key role in Australia’s renewable energy sector since its early days, supplying technology to some of the nation’s first utility-scale solar projects.
Under the new leadership model, Wiggins will oversee Service and Technology, while John Alexander will continue as Managing Director responsible for Sales and Corporate functions.
The structure is intended to align technical delivery with commercial strategy as the market transitions toward more complex, integrated energy systems.
Wiggins brings extensive international experience across large-scale renewable energy projects, including senior engineering and leadership roles at SMA and RWE in Germany.
His expertise spans utility-scale wind, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and solar project engineering.
“I am excited to step into this role and continue strengthening SMA’s long-term commitment to Australia as a key market for large-scale renewable energy,” Wiggins said.
“My focus has always been on building the technical capability, systems and teams required to support a resilient, high-renewables grid and increasingly complex large-scale energy systems.”
Australia remains a key market for SMA’s large scale division, supported by a strong pipeline of solar and storage projects.
Increasing grid complexity and the need for stability services are also driving demand for advanced technologies.
Alexander said the dual leadership model would support the company’s next phase of growth in Australia’s energy transition.
“SMA has been part of Australia’s energy transition from the beginning and is now focused on supporting the next phase, where large-scale systems, storage and grid stability become critical to a high-renewables grid,” he said.
“As the market evolves beyond standalone solar to integrated, grid-supporting systems, our focus is on delivering reliable, large-scale energy solutions that enable this transition.”
Joshua Birmingham, Global Head of Sales & Markets at SMA Solar Technology, said Australia continues to play a critical role in the company’s global strategy due to its advanced and complex energy market conditions.
“Australia is one of the most technically advanced renewable energy markets, shaped by the complexity of operating power systems with high renewable penetration and lower system strength,” he said.
“These conditions are driving the deployment and validation of grid-forming technologies, hybrid systems and large-scale storage to maintain system stability as traditional generation is phased out, making Australia a critical market for applying and proving solutions that can be scaled globally.
“Our strengthened leadership structure ensures we are well-positioned to support this next phase of the transition, both locally and as part of SMA’s global Large Scale strategy.”
The leadership update positions SMA Australia to further support the integration of renewable energy at scale, as the nation accelerates its transition toward a more resilient, low-emissions power system.
