Solar market to grow by at least 40 per cent in 2010, EPIA says
The global solar market is expected to grow by at least 40 per cent in 2010 having added an extra 6.4GW of capacity in 2009 pushing worldwide output to more than 20GW, the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) said.
It said 2009 was the most important annual capacity increase ever and was particularly impressive in light of the difficult financial and economic circumstances.
Cumulative installed capacity is expected to grow by at least 40 per cent over the course of the year with Germany remaining as the world’s largest single market.
It said the global photovoltaic (PV) market could reach between 8.2GW and 12.7GW of new installations if growth and policy continue to progress at a moderate rate. If a policy-driven scenario was to take hold, the global annual market could reach up to 30GW by 2014.
The EPIA said during 2009, Germany’s lead was followed by Italy, Japan and the US.
‘In the mid-term, Italy appears as one of the most promising markets with an additional capacity of some 700MW already in 2009,’ EPIA said.
In addition to sun irradiation, the revised incentive scheme, Conto Energia, which is due to be announced in the coming month, will continue to support momentum in the Italian market, EPIA said.
Alongside Italy, the Czech Republic showed an important growth during the year with 411MW installed but, due to overly generous support schemes EPIA said it predicts this market will shrink in 2011 after holding firm for the rest of 2010.
Adel El Gammal, Secretary General of EPIA, said, ‘This underlines the imperative need for support mechanisms to be designed in a way to ensure a long term, predictable and sustainable development of the market and avoid instability and discontinuity in market evolution.’
Strong political support for solar energy meant that Belgium made it into the top ten markets in 2009 with 292MW installed but a change in the financial support awarded to the sector means that this is expected to slow down slightly in 2010, it said.
Meanwhile in France, 185MW was installed in 2009, with an additional 100MW in place but not yet connected to the grid.
‘In spite of a huge potential this clearly demonstrates the importance for France to solve grid connection issues in order to allow the market to develop,’ EPIA said.
The boom-and-bust Spanish market, which set a market cap in 2008, saw only a minimal rise of 60MW installed in 2009 due to a lack of government incentives and the effects of the financial crisis.
Outside Europe, Japan became the third largest solar market in 2009 with 484MW installed, exhibiting important growth potential, EPIA said.
Also within the Asia-Pacific region, the association said both China and India are expected to boom in the next five years and also cited Brazil, Mexico, Morocco and South Africa as countries with promise.
Ingmar Wilhelm, president of the EPIA, said, ‘In addition to the ramp-up of many markets in Europe, the development and opening of new markets in Asia, the Americas and Africa is paving the way to a strong and sustainable momentum of PV powered supply solutions all around the world.’
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