Cut Balance-Of-System Costs

Greentech Media Research (GTM) has recently released a report that predicts the module-level power electronics (MLPE) market to grow five-fold by 2017, singling out 2014 to be the landmark year for the explosive growth.

Such module-level power electronics help in maximising the energy output of existing modules by reducing losses due to power mismatch in strings. These products include DC optimisers as well as micro-inverters.

The industry’s gradual move to more expensive module-level power electronics (MLPE) would seem likely to make solar more costly, acknowledged SolarBridge Technologies marketing VP Craig Lawrence. But an AC module with a built-in microinverter can decrease BOS costs in two unexpected ways.

First, it can cut the cost of customer acquisition, Lawrence said. Currently, customer acquisition is the biggest cost category after modules.

Second, incorporating the power electronics into the module allows installers to sell to customers with non-standard roofs or shading issues. That increases installers’ customer volume and kilowatts sold.

“But the best way to reduce BOS costs is to eliminate them,” Lawrence said. SolarBridge’s “true AC module” eliminates up to 30 percent of an installer’s on-the-roof labor because most of the electronics are pre-assembled and pre-integrated at the factory. “What would you rather pay for -- $14-per-hour factory labor or labor up on the roof at $40 per hour?”

2014-04-24 Source:  Greentech Media Research  Cut Balance-of-System Costs