AC Modules Continue their Launch – but Will be Slow to Adoption
AC Modules Continue their Launch – but Will be Slow to Adoption
Author: Matthew Feinstein, Lux Research
Throughout 2011 – and continuing at Dallas' Solar Power International – module players have debuted alternating-current (AC) outputting modules. Previously, SolarBridge had announced partnerships with Kyocera, AUO, and Hanwha SolarOne – now SunPower has joined with SolarBridge as well, and Hanwha SolarOne also has an AC module with Enphase microinverters. SolarBridge is the only microinverter company whose primary go-to market strategy is through module manufacturers. AC modules are simply solar modules with microinverters attached at the production site, sold as an AC-outputting device. Inverter suppliers see this as a way of reducing total installation cost; today, developers and installers buy inverters separately from modules.
Microinverters – led by first mover Enphase – have traditionally been priced between $0.75/W and $1/W when sold to installers. Even with attachment at the module production site, chances are the cost savings aren't enough to compete with the $0.50/W to $0.60/W price tag string inverters boast for low-volume residential systems. A question also remains – who holds the warranty on the microinverter? Does the module company bear that burden, covering the entire AC module, or are microinverter start-ups still responsible for 25 years of coverage on the most failure-prone component in a solar array, the inverter? Enough time has passed to reveal a few winners in the microinverter space in general – Enphase, SolarBridge, and Enecsys among them – but the chances for their success in the broader inverter market remains dim as incumbents like Power-One and SMA both debut their own microinverters, and innovate in other balance of systems areas.
In general, module players have little to lose by offering an additional product next to their standard line that utilizes a microinverter from an established company. However, installers and developers remain the gatekeepers, and may not select those products over DC modules coupled with outside string/central inverters from more trusted suppliers. Microinverters will maintain market share at a portion of the residential market rather than competing broadly, no matter the sales strategy.
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November 2011 - The Grid
