The World Market for Photovoltaic (PV) Inverters – 2010 Edition shows that the global solar PV inverter market grew 14.8% in 2009 to US$2.9 billion with a total of 8.3 GW of solar PV inverters shipped.

IMS Research says three-phase solar PV inverters are forecasted to see the fastest growth over the next five years with shipments predicted to exceed 15 GW by 2014.

Small three-phase inverters (10-35 kW) are predicted to have high growth driven by regulatory changes in Germany and the product releases by several major suppliers.

The growth for solar PV inverters comes despite of the tight constraint on production capacity, but major changes in supplier shares are predicted for the second half of 2010 with “some suppliers better placed in the booming German market,” IMS Research says.

Microinverters and DC-DC power optimisers should capture an increasing market share in 2010 – mainly through small roof-top applications.