Vendor Assessment: Industry Short List for Utility-Scale Photovoltaic Inverters for the North American Market

This IDC Energy Insights report evaluates the vendors supplying utility-scale inverters (100kW and larger) for photovoltaic installations for the PV developer and utilities markets. Inverters are fast evolving from simple boxes that convert DC power into AC power to intelligent devices that sense, monitor, and control the PV array and the flow of current from it. This transformation of the inverter makes it an especially difficult purchasing decision for solar developers and utilities buyers, as the landscape is shifting so rapidly and the technological innovations are coming in such a fast and furious manner. Inverters are in the process of transforming from an afterthought in the PV system to the central processing unit of the system and a key determinant to its lifetime performance.

According to Sam Jaffe, coauthor of the report and research manager, Distributed and Energy Strategies at IDC Energy Insights, "The three fundamental legs that support a buying decision in the inverter field are cost, efficiency, and long-term reliability. The inverter is no longer a box of wires and parts bolted onto a PV array — it has become the heart and brains of the system."