Power optimiser manufacturer SolarEdge has further strengthened its UK team following a strong performance last year.
Speaking to Solar Power Portal, SolarEdge UK country manager, Daniel Huber said that the company is buoyant about its prospects in the UK. He explained: “SolarEdge has ended 2013 in a very, very positive moment. We have reached 10% market share on both residential and the small commercial segment.
“Based on the success of 2013 and positive momentum carried through the first quarter we have decided to expand our operation in the UK. We have opened a new office in London, we are expanding the team – overall we see significant growth and we expect to continue this way.”
Huber notes that the company’s growth has been primarily driven by the residential sector, noting that SolarEdge had benefitted from the “stable market”. However, Huber remains realistic about the sector’s potential to perform even stronger than it currently is. He said: “We think the market can grow – I don’t feel it can grow very significantly from the point it is now but it can definitely grow in a reasonable way.”
Huber sees the emergence of the smaller commercial roofspace as a strong market for SolarEdge, with the UK country manager arguing that the benefits of fitting power optimisers are more pronounced in commercial applications.
Huber explained: “The commercial segment is certainly a very attractive segment for SolarEdge and we see the potential for very rapid growth. We have installed many 50-250kWp projects over the last few months and we see this segment going very well.”
The company has experienced some challenges with the UK market where module level electronics are not as widely adopted as in the rest of Europe. Huber believes that the key to increased adoption of the technology lies with education. Huber added: “It’s all about education. It’s all about being able to reach the people and talk to them either through your partners or directly. For that purpose we are investing a lot of marketing efforts, we are going out with our yearly roadshow in the UK where we aim to meet hundreds of installers face-to-face.”
The company’s two-week long roadshow will run from June 16 to June 27, travelling from Plymouth to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. The training will include installation and communication tips, site designer and monitoring portal demonstrations and a Q&A session.