Stable Module Prices, Unavailable Inverters for Large Projects

The cost of the modules is currently on hold. The development depends, among other things, on the inverter market. Martin Schachinger, Managing Director of PV Xchange, explains how the two are related.

There's still room for improvement

Specifically, the efficient modules with an efficiency of 21 percent and more and with modern cell technologies are traded for 39 cents per watt. This is the same price as last month. The price for standard modules has increased by one cent per watt. These are now trading for 30 cents per watt.

Will module prices continue to fall?

Because this could decrease at times. The problem here is not a decline in customer interest. This is still high. But there are no large inverters. While the delivery situation for smaller devices with rated outputs of up to ten kilowatts has eased, it is different for larger devices with outputs of 60 kilowatts and more.

Inverter market is empty

The European market for large string inverters has been largely emptied, and there is no sign of a short-term replenishment, says the PV-Xchange boss. He assumes that this will definitely have a negative impact on the purchasing behavior of project customers and that module prices could continue to fall.

Components are missing

"A few months ago, the bottleneck was blamed on the general shortage of chips, which was triggered by increased demand from the automotive industry, among other things. Now it's important power electronics components that are missing for the production of the inverters." Schachinger says.