Worldwide, solar module installations from 2014 to 2020 is expected to have average annual additions of around 40 GW, says a new report from ReportsnReports.com.
The market witnessed an average year-on-year growth rate of more than 50 percent from 2008 to 2013, says a new report from ReportsnReports.com.
The maximum growth was witnessed during the 2006-2013 period.
Annual installations increased from 1.43 Gigawatts (GW) in 2006 to 37.70 GW in 2013 with increasing economies of scale, emerging technologies, and policy-based governmental and institutional support for the industry.
The growth in 2012 was much lower than the growth in the preceding years; for the industry started to adjust away from the initial spur and support from the governments of some key geographies for the industry was reduced or eliminated.
In 2012, annual installation totaled 28.53 GW, compared with the 30.83 GW installed in 2011.
Global annual solar PV module market installations increased considerably to 37.70 GW in 2013, due to a rise in installations in China, Japan, the US and India.
China continued its leadership for the seventh consecutive year being the world’s largest solar module manufacturer. China contributed 70.9 percent of the crystalline modules produced globally in 2013 worth 26.46 GW of solar energy.
Domestic availability of polysilicon, a favorable regulatory environment, and easily available inexpensive labor force were the major factors contributing for the growth of Chinese solar energy market.
Chinese companies like GCL Solar Energy Technology, Yingli Green Energy, LDK Solar, Trina Solar and Jinko Solar claim annual production capacities of over 1,000 Megawatts (MW) each.
Japan is a distant second to China in the solar Photovoltaic (PV) market with a 9 percent share of global production, manufacturing 3.72 GW of modules in 2013, the report said.
Japan has continued leading thin-film module production for the third consecutive year. It accounted for 28.9 percent of global thin-film module production in 2013.
South Korea and Taiwan stand as the third and fourth largest solar module manufacturers in 2013.
The US and Germany followed, with a 2.4 percent and 2.3 percent share, respectively, the report said.
Rajani Baburajan
editor@greentechlead.com