The green tech boom is proving a boon for those renewable energy companies that slogged their way through the dirt-cheap oil years of the 1990s, back when wind turbines were about as popular as the Yugo. Take Xantrex, a Canadian company that makes power inverters used in solar energy systems and wind farms. The non-descript boxes (photo below) play a key role in making renewable energy usable, transforming the direct current produced by solar panels and wind turbines into alternating current that can be used in homes and by the power grid. In August, Xantrex began supplying inverters to Silicon Valley 
solar cell maker SunPower (SPWR). The Burnaby, British Columbia-based company’s inverter sales shot up 91 percent in the third quarter of 2006 compared to the previous year. The company, which has annual revenue of about $C145 million ($US 122 million), has installed inverters in solar power systems generating a total of 100 megawatts of energy. "It’s really gone from a small, fragmented – almost a hobby business – to a business with large and demanding customers, " says Xantrex marketing executive Doug May, a tech industry veteran. "It reminds me of the PC market 20 years ago. There’s a lot of good players, a lot of good technology. I think the business model hasn’t shaken out yet."
With utilities like PG&E (PCG), San Diego Gas & Electric (SRE) and Southern California Edison (EIX) signing 500-megawatt solar energy deals, and wind farms sprouting across California, Texas and the Great Plains, the prospects for the inverter business look sunny. For instance, HelioVolt, an Austin, Texas-based thin-film solar startup, last week announced a deal with inverter company Exeltech to jointly develop integrated solar power systems. The question is, will someone start rolling up inverter companies, much like solar cell makers have been acquiring solar system installers.
While Xantrex owes its current revenue growth largely to inverter sales, the 500-employee company also makes non-renewable energy inverters, battery storage systems and portable power devices. As concerns about global warming grow, Xantrex is expanding into the consumer market, selling a battery called the PowerHub (at left) 
that can store energy produced from home solar and wind power systems. Up next is a solar-powered battery that can charge mobile phones, laptops, iPods and other gadgets. "We’ve started to develop a whole set of products called personable renewable energy," May told Green Wombat. "We see the market moving down to the individual consumer."
Green Wombat 
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