Solar energy is on the rise, with solar power installations expected to rise dramatically by the end of this year. A recent report from IMS Research found that global solar photovoltaic (PV) (or solar cells) installations will reach 24GW in 2011, despite an initial slow start to the year. This will be a rise from 19GW in 2010.
Yet some countries are actually slowing with their solar energy installation rate – the research also found that European installations will increase by only 3% this year. Italy will replace Germany has the world’s largest market, but this still won’t be enough to ‘counter’ for the massive solar energy drop in other European countries such as the Czech Republic and Germany. Ash Sharma, Senior Research Director for Photovoltaics, states that “Europe's share of global installations will sharply fall from 82% in 2010 to 68% in 2011”.
Interestingly, despite a rise in solar power installations, there has not been a rise in the demand for PV (or solar cell) components. This is apparently due to there being high inventory levels, so most suppliers did not see any considerable increase in orders.
Despite the European solar energy market slowing down, the Asian and American markets are expected to have risen. They will be responsible for 85% of the global growth for 2011. Sharma states, “The PV market continues to diversify in 2011; this will create short-term pain for suppliers that can no longer solely rely on one market to fuel their growth, but creates long-term stability for the industry by helping to balance the effects of a single country's incentive policy and reduce large swings in supply and demand”.
Australia is one of the top 10 ‘solar energy markets’ for 2011, with an estimated 2% of the global market solar energy share.
So, you ask, why the increase in PV installations? Many believe attractive incentives, and changes in tariffs, are contributing to the rise in solar power in many countries.
