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.

Third-Gen Thin-Film Solar Technologies: Forecasting the Future of Dye-Sensitized and Organic PV
October 8, 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.

Technology

STR Debuts on NYSE to Lukewarm Reception

UPDATE: STR’s stock closed up 31 percent. The encapsulant maker is the first solar company to go public for more than a year. But the timing is off as investors absorb some bad news about job cuts.

Solar
Ucilia Wang November 6, 2009
Vela Solaris Tackles the Solar Puzzle

The Swiss startup licenses software for designing solar thermal heating and cooling or electric systems. Expect more software developers to jump into the solar market.

Solar
Ucilia Wang November 5, 2009
First Solar Buys Land Option From Ausra for Topaz Project

The land, next to the parcel originally set aside for Topaz, will help First Solar avoid political tussles over building on farmland protected by Williamson Act.

Solar
Ucilia Wang November 4, 2009
Ampulse Raises $8M to Marry Silicon With Thin-Film Production

UPDATE: Ampulse’s new board member, Daniel Leff of Globespan Capital Partners, says Ampulse is on a “radically different cost curve.” The startup’s technology deposits a thin layer of monocrystalline silicon on a flexible sheet of metal.

Solar
Ucilia Wang November 3, 2009
LDK Solar Shares Dive as Q-Cells Demands Money Back

The German solar cell maker said LDK failed to deliver silicon wafers as promised, and is in legal dispute over the deposit it made to secure the supply back in 2007. UPDATE: LDK says Q-Cells wrongly terminated the contract.

Solar
Ucilia Wang November 2, 2009
Cal May Add 365MW in 2009, Still Short of 20% Mandate

California’s utilities are signing gigawatts of renewable electricity contracts, but getting those electrons hasn’t been so easy.

Policy
Ucilia Wang October 30, 2009
SPI: Solar Quandaries and Strategies

Another Solar Power International has come and gone. This year was cautiously optimistic as the industry has begun to recover from a shaky 2008.

Solar
Frank Smith October 30, 2009
Masdar PV: First Commercial Project and Factory Expansion

The startup amorphous-silicon thin-film maker, backed by Abu Dhabi, plans to ship panels with two layers of amorphous silicon next year.

Manufacturing
Ucilia Wang October 29, 2009
Toyota Developing Solar-Powered EV Charging Station

The electricity generated by the solar cells is first stored in storage batteries and then used to charge electric vehicles.

Solar
Tech-On! October 29, 2009
Robert Kennedy on Being Subversive

The environmental activist and VC talks up his love of green energy, opposition to a Feinstein bill, and concern about Chinese solar companies ‘flooding the market’ with their products.

Solar
Ucilia Wang October 28, 2009
What the Solar Industry Wants in a Climate Change Bill

The Solar Energy Industries Association is asking members to pony up for a big political battle against oil and coal industries.

Solar
Ucilia Wang October 27, 2009
Enphase Creates Two-in-One Microinverter Pack

The startup has designed a new product that it says would cut time and labor costs, particularly for commercial systems.

Solar
Ucilia Wang October 27, 2009
Cutting the Fat, and Cost, Out of Solar

Lose the rack, says Zep Solar. Where is that confounded module?

Startups
Michael Kanellos October 26, 2009
Solar Roundup: 6MW Solar Neighborhood, PG&E Buys 500MW

Solar companies have announced products, deals and manufacturing plans ahead of a major industry conference.

Solar
Ucilia Wang October 26, 2009
MIT, Storage, ‘Direct Solar’ Among DOE Research Grant Winners

MIT and startups from the university were some of the recipients of a $151 million round of DOE grants.

Solar
Michael Kanellos October 26, 2009
National Semi Buys Energy Recommerce

National Semi, which launched devices for boosting solar panel performance earlier this year, now adds power monitoring software and service to its offerings.

Solar
Ucilia Wang October 22, 2009
First Solar IPO in Over a Year Is Coming

STR, an encapsulant maker in Connecticut that counts First Solar and SunPower among its customers, could raise $212.2 million

Solar
Ucilia Wang October 22, 2009
Solar Winners: Auto Parts Makers

Skyline Solar, which is raising another round of funding, lines up a car parts maker to produce its concentrating solar systems.

Solar
Ucilia Wang October 22, 2009
DayStar Technologies Loses CEO, Again

The struggling CIGS thin-film company, which also canceled a merger plan with EPOD Solar, is now on its fourth chief executive this year.

Solar
Ucilia Wang October 21, 2009
Suntech Forms Alliances to Launch ‘Reliathon’ for Utility Market

The solar panel maker is packaging a new line of panels with trackers and inverters from other makers to entice project developers.

Solar
Ucilia Wang October 21, 2009