I wasn’t sure what to expect in my many meetings with solar inverter companies, from residential to utility-scale, at RE+ 2025 in Las Vegas. I came away from the show feeling much more positive about the year ahead than I thought I’d be.
A conversation with Wood Mackenzie analyst Joe Shangraw, who specializes in inverters and trackers, echoed the sentiments I heard at many booth visits: Demand for inverters is high right now as developers rush to safe-harbor equipment before FEOC requirements kick in in January. And Shangraw expects strong demand to continue from January to July’s start-construction deadline for the ITC.
Here’s a recap of some of the new inverter products I saw during my week in Vegas.
Residential inverters
With the end of the residential solar ITC looming, small-scale inverter companies are leaning even harder into resilient solar + storage solutions, home energy management and even some unique use-cases like balcony solar. According to Shangraw, the major residential inverter manufacturers are focused on winning the energy storage battle as those attachment rates just keep rising.
SolarEdge’s Nexis system.
SolarEdge’s Nexis battery block is a modular, snap-together LFP battery. The built-in 13.5 kW inverter has a single SKU for simplified distribution. When paired with the SolarEdge meter collar made in partnership with ConnectDER, installers can often avoid main panel upgrades for more affordable home energy upgrades.
The Hoymiles HiFlow 800 Pro.
The new HiFlow microinverter by Hoymiles is designed for porch or balcony solar, a common practice in Europe that is only starting to be approved in the United States. Utah is so far the only state to allow this kind of “plug-in solar” without permits or interconnection agreements, but Hoymiles is getting ahead of potential demand. The HiFlow is Wi-Fi- and Bluetooth-integrated and pairs with a 2-kWh battery.
Enphase’s smaller commercial microinverter.
Enphase’s second-gen commercial microinverter, the 480-V IQ9, now uses gallium nitride technology, replacing silicon carbide for a stronger and smaller product. The company’s latest solar + storage package features a 10-kWh domestically manufactured battery to compete with Tesla and other residential battery makers. Enphase is also making a meter collar to cut back on main panel upgrades.
Large-scale inverters
Large-scale inverter manufacturers remain optimistic about the market and demand as developers rush to safe-harbor materials to start construction before the ITC cutoff. Still, manufacturers are adding new options for retrofitting in case of a boom in that market when the ITC ends.
Here are some large-scale inverter releases:
CPS’s 250-kW 600-V inverter.
CPS’s 600-V inverter is meant for longevity and easy O&M — 600-V BOS products are widely available and can be sourced locally instead of custom to the solar industry. These 250-kW inverters come with both distributed and centralized wire box options and are also offered in a skidded solution.
SMA’s Sunny Highpower PEAK3 Flex.
SMA’s new Peak3 Flex for the C&I market is a variable nameplate inverter that allows installers to set any power class needed between 52 and 172 kW in the field and generate a factory label. The Flex is especially helpful for matching voltage needs in repowering projects.
Yaskawa Solectria has released its largest commercial inverter yet — the 1,000-V PVI 100TL. The inverter geared toward rooftop installs features six MPPTS and electrically isolated grounds. The PVI 100TL also gets rid of the LCD screen, which can degrade and become unreadable over time in the sun. The inverter has a built-in APsmart rapid shutdown transmitter if an installer chooses APsystems for RSD.
Sungrow’s PowerStack 255CS.
Sungrow’s 125-kW PowerStack 255CS is a liquid-cooled battery for C&I energy storage projects. The PowerStack can be used for backup power, but also for peak shaving and demand charge savings. It shares some key components, including the cooling mechanism and battery management system, with the new PowerTitan 3.0 AC block BESS for large-scale storage applications.
