PV Inverters Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Central, String, Micro), By End Use (Residential, Commercial & Industrial, Utilities), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2019 - 2026

Industry Insights

The global PV inverters market size was valued at USD 7.32 billion in 2017. It is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 3.9% during the forecast period. The demand for solar Photovoltaics (PV) inverters is primarily driven by increased demand for solar energy and renewable power generation. Solar energy is expected to dominate new capacity additions in the renewable sector globally, by 2020; where projects larger than the capacity of 5 megawatts will hold over 60% of the global market. This takes into account the growth of all the PV equipment during installations including solar inverters, which is used for energy conversion to electricity.

Renewables have witnessed growth at an unprecedented pace over the past decade and have continually surpassed expectations. More number of companies are committing to their respective energy transitions from conventional to renewable sources. The changing consumer preference for a sustainable environment, ambitious targets by the central governments coupled with adequate planning and implementation of several supporting policies have led to significant advancements in renewable energy sector.

The renewable energy has predominantly become a feasible alternative as the civilization stands at a critical juncture where the world is on a cusp of embracing clean energy at a scale never seen before. In the current scenario, it costs less to build a new solar or wind plant than to continue running a natural gas or coal plant.

Solar power has gained popularity in a very short time. It generates electricity with no pollution, no fuel price volatility, and no fuel costs. In addition, the potential of sustainability of taking the world forward towards affordable, reliable, and cleaner sources of electricity is also a significant growth parameter. Such factors have resulted in increased photovoltaic installations and directly affected the demand for PV inverters.

The solar equipment have witnessed growth in all the end-use sectors on a continual basis coupled with the future growth prospects in residential, commercial, and utility-scale sectors. Utility is among the most substantially growing end-use sectors of the solar PV inverter market. The industrial sector currently accounts for around one-third of global energy usage.

Industrial and commercial energy demand has been the most impactful growth prospects, especially in developing and emerging economies. The need to reduce the unprecedented rise in greenhouse gas emissions and usage of fossil fuels for energy generation - both of which are associated with the climate change, has let to rapid installations of solar panels.

The latest innovation in the market is the concept of solar panel integrated with photovoltaic inverter. For instance, companies such as Enphase are making inverters with the ease of an attachment point at the back of the panel. Some of the U.S. inverter specialists have consequently stated partnerships with numerous key panel manufacturers in the past one year with an effort to create module without additional installations.

Product Insights

Central PV inverter was the dominant product segment for the global market. These equipment are mainly designed for large arrays of panels installed on industrial facilities, buildings, and field installations. The product is generally located in a protected environment and receives DC power from all solar panels into a combiner box. It converts the received DC power to AC power and becomes a single point for distribution. These inverters have been in the market for the most prolonged period and thus have more credibility over other products. Also, these are housed in a protective environment and are highly reliable subjected to their well-maintenance.

String inverters are the second most widely used product finds an extensive array of applications. They are used primarily in residential and commercial sectors. However, in the past few years they have gained immense significance on account of rapid technological advancements. These inverters are easier to install and offer lower initial cost per peak watt price.

End-use Insights

Different end-use segments have witnessed growth on account of numerous distinct factors. For instance, utility segment experienced a substantial increase due to grid-connected photovoltaic systems that operate in parallel with the conventional electricity utility-grid.

Industrial and commercial scale systems are among the largest market in some parts of the world as they display more valuable retail electric power in tandem with the cost-effectiveness they offer. Utilities have witnessed the fastest growth in the past three years due to many large-scale solar projects worldwide. The segment is projected to expand at a CAGR of 4.6% in Asia Pacific from 2018 to 2026.

Regional Insights

Asia Pacific led with over 50% of market share in terms of revenue in 2017. This can be directly attributed to the commissioning of several grid-scale solar farms throughout the region, especially in China and India. Government subsidies and purchase incentives have played the primary role in driving installations of solar power in the region. Presence of key market players in China and Japan coupled with the technical development of their power electronics sector has also supported the massive demand from Asia Pacific.

China is the largest country in the world in terms of solar installations and is considered as a driving power for the global solar industry. The country has changed the global energy map with an extraordinary surge in solar investments. Japan, because of its market players and technological advancements coupled with rising demand for smart solar, has contributed substantially to the Asian market.

North America is a mature market with U.S. as a significant contributor. The country is a significant market for different types of solar equipment. Some of the recent trends in U.S. include an increase in sizes of central inverters (1.5 MW plus) and three-phase string inverters (60 kW plus). Though this country has witnessed steady growth for string inverters, the central variant is anticipated to maintain the market hold over the next seven years.

PV Inverters Market Share Insights

The value chain of solar inverters is considerably complicated, and so is the whole photovoltaic value chain. Different components of the solar value chain account for different revenue generation, such as the significant portion constitutes of panels (40%) followed by inverters (34%) and batteries (27%). The value chain complexity includes little room for technical differentiation of PV devices, as the efficiency of these devices is already relatively high.

Fronius International GmbH and SMA Solar Technology are two of the major market players. Apart from these two, very few companies are entirely into solar inverter manufacturing. Most companies are module producers that vertically integrate into electrical components by not just marketing them but producing them.

Some of the other prominent companies include Siemens AG, ABB, KACO Omron Corporation, Hitachi H-Rel Power Electronics Pvt. Ltd, SunPower Corporation, Eaton, Power-One, Tigo Energy, and Enphase Energy.

Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts volume and revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2014 to 2025. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global PV inverters market report on the basis of product, end-use, and region:

• Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2026)

  • Central

  • String

  • Micro

  • Other

• End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2026)

  • Residential

  • Commercial & Industrial

  • Utilities

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2026)

  • North America

    • The U.S.

    • Canada

    • Mexico

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • Italy

    • The U.K.

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • Japan

    • India

  • Middle East & Africa

  • Central & South America