This data-file tracks some of the leading companies making solar inverters and their products’ costs. Our utility-scale solar models assume up to $0.1/W might be paid for an inverter, usually less, and this is borne out by the data-file.
However, there are caveats. Costs per watt approximately double for every 10x reduction in inverter size. Chinese manufacturers also appear to sell inverters for 30-50% less than Western companies, suggesting strong competition and margin pressure.
The competition appears to be lowest for micro-inverters. In which category, lower pricing is also linked to lower efficiency ratings. This may augur well for leaders in this sub-space.