What is going on globally with PV ? In Europe having got through major policy changes the market is beginning to show a sustainable growth metric. But this said the Euro-crats seem to have it in mind to give this economic, social and environmentally essential industry another round of kicks through ill thought out policy reviews.
Research suggests that Solar photovoltaic (PV) demand will increase by two giga watts, from 29 to 31 during 2013, up 7% year on year. However European consumers paying ever higher bills and supply business will not benefiting from this growth as for the first time, China will outpace Germany to become the leading PV consumer.
.
Due to what can only be described as misplaced political meddling - European demand may fall as much as 26% from last year. This is a major blow in fulfilling environmental commitments, reducing energy bills and the much needed boost to economies (The green sector being one of the few growth sectors of late)
In contrast, new supportive policies across leading PV countries in the Asia-Pacific region, led by China, Japan, and India, will stimulate regional growth of over 50% and account for more than 11 GW of PV demand in 2013.
Global PV Demand in 2013
Around the world -ground-mount installations will dominate the market in 2013 with 45% of PV demand. These installations are being driven by policies that favour utility-based deployment.
Strongly influenced by Japan, Germany, Australia, Italy, and the UK, overall market share for residential PV in 2013 will remain above 20%. These five countries will account for 75% of all residential PV installations this year, which highlights the importance of distributed generation.
So the world continues to embrace the vast potential of renewable power to stimulate economies and address rising energy costs. We must hope the Uk and Europeans don't lose sight of this...............