A survey conducted by IMS Research of more than 400 global photovoltaic (PV) inverter customers has revealed a rapidly growing need for energy storage in PV systems. Despite the infancy of the energy storage market, nearly one third of the respondents indicated that they expect to be using energy storage in over 40% of the PV systems they will have install by 2015. The recent survey of global installers, system integrators and wholesalers also revealed that Chinese PV inverters are gaining acceptance and that the high price of microinverters is the main barrier to them gaining share.
IMS Research noted that in the most recent survey, respondents in Germany, Italy, and the UK selected energy storage as being more critical than any other requirement for future PV inverters. In addition, the most common response from customers when asked what the main driver for the adoption of energy storage, was a reduction in battery prices helping to drive lower system prices and make storage financially viable.
IMS Research stated that over 60% of the firms that responded to the survey believed that an acceptable increase in system price for the inclusion of energy storage would be between 10-29%, but almost 30% of respondents indicated they would be willing to pay an even higher premium.
The high price of microinverters was the most common reason for firms not to use them in solar installations, said IMS Research. However, the survey found that the proportion of customers using microinverters had increased by 10 percentage points in 2012 compared to 2011, with their ability to combat shading and the additional design flexibility that they offer given as the most common reasons for using them.
"As a result of the advantages and features that they offer, microinverters and power optimizers are beginning to become more widely accepted; however price is a major drawback and the majority of respondents who do not currently purchase microinverters stated they would need to reduce in price by over 50% for them to consider using them," Sam Wilkinson, manager for power and energy research at IHS. IMS is now part of IHS.
The survey also highlighted a growing acceptance for China-made inverter products. In comparison to the survey conducted over one year ago, respondents that believe China-made inverters are of an acceptable level of quality increased from 30-40%. The most notable increase came from customers located in Germany, where the proportion more than doubled. The most common concerns quoted by those that did not consider China-made inverters to offer an acceptable level of quality were reliability of the products and the levels of service and warranty offered.
