2009 remains cloudy for solar inverter market
PC's Solar Photovoltaics Blog
The global market for PV inverters is likely to fall by 27 percent thisyear to under $2 billion according to the latest analysis from IMSResearch.
Despite the record growth seen in 2008, with themarket growing by 95 percent to reach $2.5 billion, this year is set tobe very different. IMS Research’s ongoing analysis of the market showsthat in the first quarter of 2009 worldwide inverter shipments fell 45percent compared to the previous year.
Research analyst andreport co-author, Sam Wilkinson commented: “A sharp decrease ininverter shipments in 2009 is forecast due to four key factors: therestricted access to credit which has delayed major projects, the 500MWcap implemented by Spain’s Government, the particularly harsh winter inEurope which has delayed installations and the sudden drop in PV moduleprices.”
Wilkinson added: “We have seen falling module priceshaving an adverse affect on the market as suppliers have reduced pricesso dramatically that end users are now waiting further in order to buyat the lowest possible price.”
Wilkinson continued, “Althoughthis year the outlook for the market is not good, it is forecast tocontinue growing from 2010 onwards, exceeding $4 billion in the nextfive years.”
