Global cumulative operating capacity of solar Photovoltaic (PV) installations crossed over 135 GW in 2013, driven primarily by Europe and significant late-year additions in Asia-Pacific, according to a new research in Research and Markets.
In terms of annual installations, Europe was the clear leader, with 16.7 GW being installed in 2012 that accounted for 51.6 percent of the global market, though this was a substantial decline of 24.9 percent over 2011’s 22.2 GW installed and 73.7 percent share, making it a first for the region since 2000.
The principal causes of the decline were attributed to reduction in incentives, including FiT payments and wide-ranging ambiguity in policies, with Italy being the most adversely impacted in declining by 63.6 percent in 2012 over 2011.
The global market for annual Solar Photovoltaic installations, estimated at 32.2 gigawatts (GW) in 2013 and forecast to be 41.1 GW in 2014, is further projected to reach 145.8 GW by 2020, thereby maintaining a CAGR of 24 percent between 2010 and 2020.
Declining prices has led to solar PV’s expansion in new markets, ranging from Africa and the Middle East region to Asia and Latin America, the report said.
The year also witnessed growing interest in community-owned and self-generated PV systems, with the number and scale of large PV projected also going up.
High levels of competition and declining prices and margins left PV cell and module manufacturers in a precarious position, leading to greater industry consolidation and shutting shop for a number of manufacturers in China, Europe and the United States.
In the wake of a slowdown in traditional European markets, declining PV prices has facilitated competition in newer markets across the world, with Namibia and South Africa being two such regions where large-scale solar parks were brought online in 2012.
Seizing the opportunity, Chinese companies initiated construction of projects in at least 20 African countries with the goal of bolstering demand for exports from the country.