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Enphase Energy, Inc. ENPH said that its IQ8 Microinverters have been chosen for a 2.2-megawatt (MW) solar project at the Belgoprocess radioactive waste facility in Dessel, Belgium.
The project will span four rooftops of the radioactive waste site and comprise 4,000 IQ8HC Microinverters. Over the long term, the capacity is expected to increase from 2.2 MW to 6 to 8 MW.
Significance of ENPH’s IQ8 Microinverters
IQ8 Microinverters are Enphase Energy’s latest and most powerful microinverters available to date. With their ability to handle a constant DC current of 14 amperes, IQ8 Microinverters are engineered to optimize energy yield and accommodate higher-powered solar modules by increasing energy harvesting.
As IQ8 operates at low-voltage AC power instead of high-voltage direct current (DC) power, these microinverters are safer to use. The three variants of IQ8 Microinverters, IQ8MC, IQ8AC and IQ8HC, are designed to function in tandem with a wide range of solar modules up to 560 W DC.
ENPH’s Prospects in Europe’s Solar Market
Apart from Belgium, nations across Europe are rapidly expanding their portfolio of renewable energy sources. Per a Solar Power Europe report, 70 gigawatts (GW) of capacity will be added by the market, representing a 7% growth rate in 2025. In the near future, it projects low single-digit annual growth rates of 3-7% from 2025 to 2028. This would be sufficient for the European Union to reach its 750 GW solar ambition by 2030.
This naturally offers profitable incentives to solar players like Enphase Energy to expand their footprint in this region. The company has been progressively increasing its market share in the European solar industry.
In August 2024, Enphase Energy declared that it started distributing its IQ8 Microinverters to aid the latest high-capacity solar modules in several European nations, including Bulgaria, France, Germany, Spain, Estonia, Slovakia and Croatia.
Such product launches can be expected to boost ENPH’s top-line performance in the European solar market in the coming days.
Opportunities for ENPH’s Peers
Other prominent solar players, such as Canadian Solar CSIQ, Emeren Group SOL and SolarEdge Technologies SEDG, are also expanding their footprint to reap the benefits of the expanding European solar energy market.
Canadian Solar enjoys a solid presence in Germany, Poland, Spain, Italy, France and the Netherlands. As of Sept. 30, 2024, the company had 5,045 MW of an early-stage pipeline in the EMEA.
CSIQ’s long-term earnings growth rate is 25%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2025 sales indicates an improvement of 21.2% from the 2024 estimated figure.
Emeren has a presence in Europe since 2012. As of Sept. 30, 2024, Emeren had 5,457 MW of solar projects in the pipeline under advanced-stage and early-stage development in Europe.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SOL’s 2025 sales implies an improvement of 46.4% from the 2024 estimated figure. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2025 earnings per share is pegged at 29 cents, which calls for growth of 193.3% from the 2024 estimated figure.
SolarEdge has a strong presence in Germany, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. On Dec. 3, 2024, SolarEdge launched its first commercial storage system (CSS) in Germany. The new CSS-OD battery provides commercial organizations with a closely integrated, high-efficiency solar and storage solution that optimizes the economics of solar self-consumption.
SEDG’s long-term earnings growth rate is 1.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2025 sales calls for an improvement of 32.2% from 2024’s estimated sales.