ABB was the top supplier of solar inverters to the Indian market for calendar year (CY) 2018 as well as cumulatively, according to Mercom’s India 2019 Solar Market Leaderboard. The top three suppliers supplied over 5 GW of solar inverters to the Indian market.

ABB leads the inverter market in India with 24% market share, followed by Sungrow with 16% and Huawei with 12%. There were over 35 inverter suppliers active in the Indian market by the end of 2018.

Large-scale solar projects have been using central inverters considering the cost, which is comparatively lower to the string inverters, and consequently, accounted for 72% of the inverter supply in 2018. However, with rooftop solar installations in the commercial and industrial (C&I) segment growing in the country, the share of string inverter supply has increased.

ABB, Sungrow, TMEIC, TBEA, and Sineng Electric were the top five central inverter suppliers accounting for a combined 83% of total central inverters supplied in 2018.

In 2018, Sungrow inaugurated its solar inverter manufacturing unit of 1 GW capacity in Bangalore, and the company says it has plans to expand the facility up to 3 GW. Sungrow accounted for 16% market share and was the second largest supplier of central inverters in 2018.

The top string inverter supplier was Huawei in 2018, which has supplied over 3 GW cumulatively in India. Delta Power, Solis, ABB and Sungrow rounded off the Top 5 list for string inverter suppliers in India accounting for a combined 77% share of the market.

Ginlong (Solis) Technologies, was listed as a public company on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in March. It is the first string inverter company to be listed on the Stock Exchange.

India has set an ambitious target to install 100 GW of solar capacity by 2022 with 40 GW targeted for rooftop solar. According to the Q1 2019 India Solar Market Update, the country has installed only 3.5 GW of rooftop solar so far. There is significant potential for the growth of string inverters as they are more suited for rooftop solar systems compared to large-scale utility projects.

Previously, Mercom reported on the challenges faced by inverter manufacturers in gaining clarity on the ambiguous BIS certification process. Manufacturers complained that getting approval for individual models was expensive and caused delays.

Recently, the MNRE came up with draft series guidelines for BIS certification for solar inverters with a capacity of up to 150 kW and has also extended the deadline up to June 30, 2019. This will hopefully make it easier for both battery and inverter manufacturers to get testing done quickly and efficiently.

The top 10 solar inverter suppliers accounted for 94% market share in 2018, while the remaining 6% was shared by others.

Mercom’s India 2019 Solar Market Leaderboard report gives a detailed breakdown of the solar supply chain, their growth rates, and shipments.

A complete list of solar inverter suppliers and their market share in India is available here:  Mercom India’s Solar Market Share Tracker.

Note: Article updated with corrected string and central inverter charts and text.

is a Research Associate at Mercom India. Prior to Mercom, Pratheeksha was an Associate Analyst at GlobalData where she authored and published syndicated research reports in the power generation industry. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Electrical & Electronics from PESITM and Master’s degree in Electrical Power Systems from the Adichunchanagiri Institute of Technology at VTU University.