The fall in value is due to the rapidly decreasing cost of inverters alongside the annual global increase in installed solar PV systems. The company’s latest report finds that the falling cost of inverters is continuing to reduce the market size, with prices expected to decrease by 20–25% in the forecast period, reaching $0.13 per Watt (W) by 2020.
“The average PV inverter price was $0.48 per W in 2010, following a sharp decline of around 60 percent over the preceding four years” said GlobalData’s Senior Analyst covering Power, Prasad Tanikella. “The price will continue to drop as major tariff cuts impact installations and demand for PV inverters by 2020. Manufacturing costs of PV inverters will also fall with improving economies of scale. The expansion plans of large manufacturers, such as SMA Solar Technology, Power-One, KACO New Energy and Refusol, will increase their supplies and saturate the market.”
Mr Tanikella added that 10 of the world’s top 15 solar PV manufacturers are headquartered in Europe, while five others are based in North America and Asia-Pacific. Germany’s SMA Solar Technology is the largest PV inverter manufacturer in the world, with an estimated production share of 9–11 percent in 2014. This is closely followed by Chinese company Sungrow, which is estimated to have held 9–10.5 percent of the global market in 2014.
Swiss firm ABB was previously the second largest manufacturer after SMA Solar with a share of around 10 percent in 2013. However, the company accounted for a decreased share of approximately 4–5 percent in 2014 due to lower installations in the European region, which is its major market.
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