Europe, Middle East and Africa Solar Photovoltaic Market Outlook to 2030 – Installed Capacity, Market Size, Risk Analysis, Market Saturation and Company Profiles

Monday 3 March 2014, Amsterdam

Global Solar Photovoltaic Installed Capacity to Witness Stable Growth until 2020

Solar module installations witnessed immense growth during the 2006–2013 period, with a Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y) growth rate in cumulative capacity of more than 50% each year from 2008 to 2013. Annual installation increased from 1.4 Gigawatts (GW) in 2006 to an estimated 32.4 GW in 2013 with increasing economies of scale, emerging technologies, and policy-based governmental and institutional support for the industry. Annual installation in 2012 was marginally lower compared with the preceding year because the industry started to move away from the initial spur and also due to the reduction or elimination of support from governments in some key countries. In 2013, an increase in global annual installation was driven by China and Japan. Annual installation was 32.4 GW, which is around 114% of the annual installations in 2012. For the 2013–2025 period, annual installations are set to stabilize within the range of 32.4–39.2 GW.

The following figure shows the annual and cumulative capacity of solar modules installed globally for the 2006–2013 period and the forecast installations or the 2013–2025 period.

European Union Directive to Drive Renewable Growth in Europe

The EU’s directive on renewable energy has set a target for each member state to increase its renewable energy share to 20% of gross final energy consumption by 2020. This can be achieved through a mixture of renewable energy s Europe, Middle East and Africa Solar Photovoltaic Market Outlook Sources. The country’s own particular policy structure and growth measures for renewable energy sources will play an important role in renewable energy deelopment. Renewable support schemes such as Feed-in Tariffs (FiT), quota obligations, capital grants and subsidies have been instrumental in promoting the growth of the renewable energy industry in various European countries. Also, in certain countries, in order to promote key renewable technologies, governments provide sector-specific support schemes, such as premium tariffs and technology-specific funds, among other things.

Germany and Italy Largest Consumers of Solar Photovoltaic Modules in 2013

In Europe, Germany was the largest consumer of solar Photovoltaic (PV) modules in 2013, with an annual installation of 3.5 GW. In spite of a FiT structure that is subjected to a digression step on a monthly basis, Germany’s annual installation was the highest in Europe because the FiTs kept the business profitable.  

Italy however went from being the largest consumer of modules in 2011 to the second largest consumer in 2012 and 2013, with a sharp fall in annual installation. Even though its solar PV capacity increased to around 18 GW, its installations fell sharply due to FiT reductions, and are expected to fall further due to further FiT reductions.