Photovoltaics Enters a New Era as a "Primary Energy Source," with Intelligent Ecosystems Leading New Industry Opportunit

 Inverter shipments buck the trend with 30% growth, while global solar investment dominates with $450 billion.

With the International Energy Agency (IEA) releasing its Renewables 2025 and World Energy Investment 2025 reports, the roadmap for the global energy transition has become increasingly clear. The reports reveal a core trend: solar photovoltaics (PV) is rapidly accelerating from a "supplementary energy source" to a "primary energy source," while the entire power system is deepening its evolution towards intelligence and diversification.

In this historic process, intelligent energy management systems centered on inverters and energy storage have become the critical hub connecting power generation, consumption, and storage, ultimately enabling a secure, efficient, and green energy supply.

 01 Industry Outlook: Solar Dominates a New Epoch of Global Energy Growth

The latest authoritative reports paint a picture of extremely certain growth for the PV industry's future. According to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), the giant ship of global energy investment has decisively turned towards clean energy.

In 2025, global clean energy investment is expected to reach $2.2 trillion, twice the investment in fossil fuels. Within this, solar PV investment is projected to be as high as $450 billion, becoming the single largest item in global energy investment, demonstrating its undisputed leading position.

The growth in installed capacity is even more intuitive. The IEA predicts that from 2025 to 2030, global renewable energy capacity will increase by 4,600 gigawatts (GW), with approximately 80% of this growth contributed by China's solar PV industry.

By 2030, solar PV is expected to surpass hydropower for the first time, becoming the world's largest source of renewable electricity. This growth is not only driven by mature markets; in countries like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and across Southeast Asia, low costs and policy support are also stimulating rapid increases in PV installations.

 02 Structural Divergence: Vastly Different Development Dynamics Across the Industry Chain

While the industry as a whole is advancing rapidly, the internal PV supply chain is undergoing profound structural changes, with a stark contrast of "ice and fire" becoming apparent.

Summarizing financial data for the first half of 2025, Soochow Securities notes that upstream manufacturing segments are under significant pressure. Revenue and profits for companies in the main chain, including polysilicon, wafers, and modules, have seen significant year-on-year declines, with industry consolidation and efforts to curb cut-throat competition underway.

In contrast, the critical equipment segments closely tied to system integration and applications are showing strong resilience. In the first half of 2025, revenue for the inverter segment grew year-on-year by 30%, with net profit attributable to shareholders surging 43%, far outpacing other PV sub-sectors.

Energy storage demand is the core engine driving this divergence. The report points out that global battery investment for power sector energy storage is expected to reach $66 billion in 2025.

Residential storage demand is gradually recovering in regions like Europe, while commercial, industrial, and utility-scale storage demand continues to grow at high speeds in China, the US, Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere. This directly boosts the performance of inverters as core equipment. This divergence indicates that the industry's value center is shifting from mere equipment manufacturing towards providing integrated, intelligent system solutions.

 03 Critical Transition: The Intelligent PV Ecosystem Becomes the Future Competitive High Ground

The future competition in the industry extends far beyond panel efficiency and cost. The IEA report notes that we are entering an "age of electrification," with rising electricity demand from industry, cooling, electric vehicles, data centers, and AI-driven applications.

This trend places unprecedented demands on the stability, flexibility, and intelligence of power systems. Huawei Digital Power's release of the Top 10 Trends for Smart PV in 2025 accurately outlines this direction of evolution.

Future PV systems will no longer be simple "power generation units" but will become "PV-Wind-Storage Generators" capable of actively supporting the grid. Through grid-forming energy storage technology, they will provide stable control of voltage and frequency, accelerating PV's role as a reliable primary energy source.

Full lifecycle intelligence will steer power plants towards "autonomous operation," while "PV-Storage-Charge-Consumption" coordination and "energy community sharing" models will significantly enhance the economics and flexibility of distributed energy. These trends collectively point to one core idea: the future winners will be the ecosystem builders capable of providing full-scenario solutions spanning from smart power generation and secure energy storage to efficient power consumption management.

 04 Suntway Technology: Focusing on Core Equipment for Intelligent Energy Management

In the face of the industry's structural opportunities and challenges, Foshan Suntway Technology Co., Ltd.'s strategic positioning is clear and firm.

As a high-tech enterprise integrating R&D, production, and sales, we consistently focus on the core equipment of intelligent energy ecosystems. Our product line includes solar inverters, lithium battery energy storage systems, MPPT solar charge controllers, intelligent battery chargers, and voltage stabilizers.

We deeply understand that in an era where PV becomes a primary energy source, mere power conversion is insufficient. Therefore, our R&D focus is on making our equipment smarter, safer, and more efficient as it integrates into new power systems.

For example, our inverter products strive to enhance power density and grid adaptability; our energy storage systems build a comprehensive "from-cell-to-grid" safety protection architecture; and our intelligent controllers pursue optimal energy management efficiency across diverse scenarios.

We actively respond to the call from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and five other departments to promote the development of the energy electronics industry, committing to enhancing the technical level of key components like smart inverters and controllers. Through our products, we empower our customers to address the challenges of grid integration, seize the diverse opportunities presented by the "PV + Storage" model, and contribute professional expertise to building a greener, more resilient energy future.

The global energy transition has entered an irreversible fast lane, with solar photovoltaics positioned at the center of this wave. For companies in the industry chain, understanding the shift from "manufacturing" to "intelligent manufacturing," and from "products" to "systems," will be key to seizing the golden opportunities of the next decade.