According to a recent report from Navigant Research, annual installations of module power level electronic (MLPE) capacity will grow from 1,185 MW in 2013 to 12,844 MW in 2020. A Navigant representative quotes “Microinverters and DC optimizers are two of the most disruptive technologies in the solar PV sector today.” SPW reached out to microinverter and traditional inverter manufacturers to weigh in on the subject.
Brad Dore, director of marketing for SMA America cites a number of reasons why MLPEs have become popular.
“[MLPEs] address common system design challenges and provide professionals with an easy-to-understand solution,” he says. “Despite higher costs, they have enabled installers with a greater degree of flexibility – which is a valuable trait.”
Microinverters enable better energy harvest, improve visibility into module-level and fleet-level performance, and in some cases, improve installation experience, making them game changing technologies, according to SolarBridge’s Craig Lawrence.
Raghu Belur, co-founder of Enphase Energy adds that microinverters create more profitable business for solar professionals and better return on investments for system owners.
“Installers find value in the design flexibility and ease of installation, while also having an integrated software platform to remotely manage the operations and maintenance of these systems,” he says. “System owners receive a naturally more reliable and higher performing system because of the microinverter’s module-level conversion benefits.”
In 2013, MLPEs appeared on more than 50% of residential installations across the United States. Like mircorinverters, DC optimizers are gaining traction for their ability to remove electrical “roadblocks” common in traditional system designs, thus enabling more modules per project, increased revenues for developer and installers and increased output for system owners.
“At the commercial level, installers can slash electrical BOS costs by incorporating longer string lengths into designs without the need for extra home run cabling, fusing or combiner boxes,” says Michael Rogerson, North American marketing manager for SolarEdge.
Photo courtesy of SolarEdge
Still, Tigo Energy believes there is room for innovation in the MLPE market. Tigo Energy’s James Bickford says maturing solar PV technology needs more than advancements in material and manufacturing processes, rather a communication-based solution that enables it to tap into a rich ecosystem of features.
“Harnessing this to a new standards-based ecosystem with common APIs to seamlessly connect smart modules, inverters, sensors, battery packs and home automation appliances, will help drive the industry to unlock value that is not currently available,” says Bickford. “This is the energy behind the disruption of MLPE.”
While MLPEs are an emerging market, traditional string inverter companies aren’t necessarily feeling the sting of competition. Tucker Ruberti, director of strategic marketing at Advanced Energy, points to cost as a primary reason.
“MLPE prices have fallen rapidly, but string inverter prices are also very competitive, and it is hard to justify the extra cost when the increased energy yield versus a string inverter product is minimal,” he says.
Sunsanna Huang from Ginlong USA adds that MLPEs and string inverters differ in terms of production and maintenance under various client situations.
“We do see the MLPEs gaining market share, while we also see some customers pulled out their MLPEs due to higher failure rate and high maintenance cost on the roof,” she says.
Chint Power Systems applauds MLPE power architecture innovations, but worries about the operations and maintenance costs for field replacement of these electronics in the next 10 years.
“Providers of such distributed electronics need to answer the reliability and long lifespan questions; a 25-year warranty is not [sufficient],” says Ed Heacox, North American general manager for Chint Power Systems.
However, despite the current competition between microinverters and traditional string inverters, Huang believes the two will co-exist in the foreseeable future.
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