Microinverter supplier Enphase Energy is witnessing soaring demand for its products in Europe for self-consumption as the continent’s energy crisis is increasing causing people to look to residential solar PV, paired with battery storage in many cases.
Enphase, which is ramping up its efforts to provide holistic home energy solutions and management systems, told this site that demand for its products in Europe has always been strong but that the current energy crisis has seen this go up to another level.
The company doubled its Q2 2022 revenue year-on-year and its revenue in Europe was up 89% on the same quarter last year and 69% on Q1 2022.
In order to better service this mounting demand, Enphase has expanded its global manufacturing capacity by partnering with manufacturer Flex in Timisoara, Romania for its European base.
Speaking with PV Tech at the RE+ industry event in Anaheim, California, Andy Newbold, Enphase’s senior director of communications, said the company was actively exploring the idea of bringing manufacturing to the US following the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the manufacturing incentives it bring, especially for microinverters which has its own subcategory.
More details on that should be released soon but there is still some uncertainty as to how the legal language included in the IRA will be translated to actual policy support, Newbold said.
Meanwhile, the company is working to develop a whole home energy solution system that will provide customers with smart energy options as it strives to offer greater home energy management.
Enphase recently bolstered its home energy management offering with an agreement to acquire German software provider GreenCom Networks and a tie-up with Home Connect, a digital platform that allows home appliances to be managed with an app.
Newbold said the acquisition of GreenCom, which provides smart home energy solutions in its home market of Germany, will allow it to offer better services to its other customers by drawing on GreenCom’s knowledge of the sector and lessons from other markets.
PV Tech will be following up on this conversation with Enphase in more depth soon. Stay tuned…
