Growth, Market Share and Dynamic Change in The PV Inverter Industry

The PV inverter market, once short of innovation, has seen a surge of investment in the last few years. Spurred by startup advances, established firms like SMA, Satcon, and National Semiconductor are developing new distributed PV electronics technologies in-house or through acquisition. This Special Report from Greentech Media, sponsored by Enphase Energy, takes a look at the state of innovation in the inverter market, VC investment activity, and the emerging leaders in the $2.4 billion PV inverter market.

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As the price of PV falls, the technology will become more competitively priced in Europe and the U.S. before its prices are competitive in China.

CPV: New Applications and Emerging Markets
November 16, 2009

Hot Startup »

Solar Startup Solasta Seeks Next Round

The solar firm was founded in 2006 with A round funding from Kleiner Perkins and claims its process could increase the efficiency of conventional amorphous silicon PV by up to 150 percent.

Projects

Iberdrola to Spend $1B on Renewable Energy

The Spanish utility's new wind and solar projects will add a total of 1.25 gigawatts of electricity-generating capacity to its portfolio.

Solar
Rachel Barron August 19, 2008
PG&E to Buy 800MW From OptiSolar, SunPower

The utility hopes the two solar-power projects will demonstrate the feasibility of building large-scale PV plants that are cost competitive with other technologies.

Solar
Ucilia Wang August 14, 2008
Clinton to Build Solar Park in India?

Former president's foundation reportedly is talking to an Indian state government about developing a 5-gigawatt solar park.

Solar
Ucilia Wang August 8, 2008
Solar Roundup: New Projects, Financing and Materials

Abengoa raises 280 million, Phoenix Solar posts 2Q earnings that grew more than twelvefold, Quantum Solar Group launches to help electronics companies move into solar and the U.K. invests £10 million in new materials.

Solar
Jennifer Kho August 7, 2008
SolFocus Installs Concentrating-Solar Project in Spain

The concentrating-solar startup, which uses mirrors and lenses to concentrate the sunlight onto its panels, has installed 200 kilowatts of concentrating PV so far and plans to complete the 500-kilowatt system in the next month.

Solar
Ucilia Wang July 29, 2008
GT Solar Sinks on LDK News

LDK Solar has inked a deal to buy furnaces from JYT, a GT Solar competitor. GT shares fall 14 percent, even though the company says the deal will have no impact on its projections.

Solar
Jennifer Kho July 25, 2008
Solar Power Partners Seeks $100M

The California solar-power project developer is raising its third fund to finance installations for schools, hospitals, public agencies and other enterprises.

Solar
Ucilia Wang July 25, 2008
SolarCity Joins Race for SF Customers

The solar installer will offer a new leasing program that will help it compete for business from residents who could benefit from San Francisco's solar incentive program.

Solar
Ucilia Wang July 21, 2008
SolarCity Sees Sales Spike

Since launching a leasing program in April for residential solar power installations, SolarCity has done more in sales than all of 2007.

Solar
Rachel Barron July 17, 2008
Recurrent Energy Grabs $75M

The company will use the money to install more solar projects on top of buildings owned by businesses, utilities and cities.

Solar
Rachel Barron July 16, 2008
First Solar Scores SCE Panel Bid

Southern California Edison has decided to buy a solar-power system from thin-film manufacturer First Solar for its 250-megawatt rooftop solar-panel project.

Solar
Jennifer Kho July 16, 2008
Intersolar Sparks Solar News

Sun Well Solar, Sopogy, Day4Energy, Ausra and Florida Power & Light make news at the inaugural Intersolar conference in the United States.

Solar
Jennifer Kho July 15, 2008
Trina Solar Powers French Planes

The solar company has agreed to sell solar cells to a French maker of luxury aircrafts for a project to fly a plane using only renewable energy.

Solar
Ucilia Wang July 14, 2008
SunPower to Build 35MW Plants in Florida

The solar panel maker will build two solar power plants for Florida Power & Light, one of which would be the largest solar electric development in the United States – for now.

Solar
Ucilia Wang July 10, 2008
Shell's Showa Solar Plans 1-Gigawatt Plant

The Japanese unit of Royal Dutch Shell reportedly will spend almost $1 billion to build one of the world's largest thin-film plants.

Solar
Rachel Barron July 3, 2008
BLM Lifts Moratorium on Public Land for Solar

The federal agency, which decided in May to stop accepting solar development projects, has changed its mind.

Solar
Ucilia Wang July 2, 2008
SunRun Grabs $12M, Eyes Residential Rooftop Market

The San Francisco company will use the money to offer services it says will make solar energy more affordable for homeowners.

Solar
Rachel Barron June 23, 2008
PG&E to Get Power from Solar-Biofuel Hybrid Project

The California utility says it will buy electricity from two identical projects that make power from the sun's heat and plant waste.

Solar
Rachel Barron June 12, 2008
Duke Energy Eyes Residential Rooftops

The utility proposed to spend $100 million to install its first large-scale distributed solar generation project at homes, schools and businesses.

Solar
Ucilia Wang June 9, 2008
California to Get More Solar-Thermal

As utilities scramble to meet California's 20 percent renewable-energy target by 2010, Southern California Edison has signed the latest solar-thermal agreement with eSolar.

Solar
Jennifer Kho June 3, 2008