Sales of solar inverters, a key component of photovoltaic (PV) systems have skyrocketed in a the second quarter of 2010, said IMS Research, a market research firm in the United Kingdom. During the second quarter of 2010, inverter shipments rose to 4.9 gigawatts (GWs), according to IMS Research’s report. That’s up from the 3.1 GWs shipped in the first quarter of 2010, the company said.

Given that 8 GWs of solar inverters already have shipped in 2010, it stands to reason that a similar capacity of solar generating equipment also has shipped. In 2009, more than 6.9 GWs of PVs were installed globally, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association’s “US Solar Industry Year in Review 2009.”

IMS’ PV Research Director Ash Sharma contended, “Shipments of 8 GW in the first six months of the year appear to support IMS Research’s prediction of close to 15 GW of new PV installations in 2010.” He added that the latter quarters of 2010 are both expected to be strong for suppliers.

Inverters aren’t the sexiest part of a PV system, but like antifreeze in a car, they’re integral parts of PV, wind, and other renewable systems. Inverters convert the energy produced by a PV system from DC current to usable AC current, which is used in most home and business settings throughout the world. Traditionally, DC current’s use was limited because it wasn’t able to carry electricity over long distances as AC current could. Wind turbines also use inverters to convert the three-phase AC current they produce into the two-phase AC current used at homes and buildings.

IMS said the majority of new inverter sales—more than half—in 2010 were shipped to Germany, currently the world leader in installed PV. However, the research also noted that “the Americas market doubled in size. Indeed, all regions recorded impressive growth, generating around €1.5 billion in revenues for inverter suppliers.”

In a press release, Sharma asserted that “records continue to be broken in the PV market and [the second quarter of 2010] was no different. 4.9 GW of inverters shipped made it the largest quarter on record and 30 percent higher than the previous record of 3.7 GW” shipped in the last quarter of 2009.