Paris, France - EPIC, The European Photonics Industry Consortium has released its Report on Photovoltaics: PV Market Overview 2009. The report, which is distributed exclusively to EPIC members, says that worldwide sales of photovoltaic panels reached $US 37.2 billion in 2009.
During the same period, the photovoltaic electrical generation capacity installed was 7.3 gigawatts (GW). Data show that installations grew by 15% compared to 2008, while revenue for the same period remained constant. Europe remains the leader for deployment, accounting for more than 70% of the PV installations worldwide. More than one half of all the installations worldwide took place in Germany, where individuals rushed to complete installations because the feed-in tariff rates may be lowered this year.
In terms of production, 40% more wattage of PV cells was manufactured than generating capacity installed (9.3 GW compared to 7.3 GW). PV production volume is now dominated by manufacturing in China, where about 32% of PV cells were made in 2009. Together, China and Taiwan now account for about 45% of world supply. Production in Europe is about 50% higher than that in Japan. In the space of three years, the geography for solar cell production has been totally transformed.
Performance of bellwether companies is an important indicator of the commercial development of solid-state lighting. In its analysis, EPIC shows that the production of PV modules will reach record levels in 2010 and again in 2011, with crystalline Si and thin-film CdTe leading the way.
For more information, please contact: T. P. Peasall: [email protected] or M. Keim Paray: [email protected].