SUN TO 2015

Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics Until 2015
May 2011 (European Photovoltaic Industry Association)

"Over the past decade, the photovoltaic (PV) market has experienced unprecedented growth…[L]ast year, the photovoltaic market has reached a cumulative installed capacity of roughly 40 GW world-wide, with an annual added capacity of 16.6 GW…[PV] is well on the way to becoming a fully competitive part of the electricity system in the European Union (EU) and an increasingly important part of the energy mix around the Globe. But much of the progress…[has] been very heterogeneous…due to several factors, the most important being different national regulations and incentive schemes as well as varying availability of financing…

"These are just some of the findings in EPIA’s Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics until 2015…EPIA market figures are a credible and authoritative source of short-term market forecasts as well as long-term scenarios. With the massive growth of the PV market, data reliability is becoming a crucial issue…[for] industry players, electric utilities and policy makers…to orientate their decisions, launch investments or plan updates on legislation. EPIA advocates the availability of quick, transparent and reliable market information and, therefore, encourages the adoption of effective monitoring systems…"

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"The PV industry experienced significant growth in 2010. Capacity additions grew from 7.2 gigawatts (GW) installed in 2009 to 16.6 GW in 2010. The total installed capacity in the world now amounts to around 40 GW, producing some 50 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electrical power every year.

"This major increase was linked to the rapid growth of the German and Italian markets. With 7.4 GW installed in Germany in just one year, the country continues to dominate the PV market world-wide. Italy installed 2.3 GW, starting to exploit some of the potential of its huge solar resources…The Czech Republic experienced a burst to 1.5 GW in 2010 that is, however, unlikely to be sustained in 2011. Japan and the USA almost reached the gigawatt mark with 990 and 900 megawatts (MW) respectively, installed last year. France reached over 700 MW, while Spain regained some ground by installing 370 MW after two years of strongly adverse conditions. Belgium connected more than 420 MW of PV capacity to the grid in 2010. The entire European Union installed slightly more than 13 GW of PV capacity in 2010 while the rest of the world accounted for over 3 GW."