"PV Status Report 2013" cover.Despite a crisis-driven decline in investment, global production of photovoltaic (PV) cells grew by 10% in 2012. According to Bloomberg, solar power capacity installed around the world this year will beat wind for the first time driven by stronger policy support in key markets. In terms of installed solar capacity Europe continues to be the global leader.
Over half (51.7%) of the new worldwide solar capacity of 30 GW was installed in Europe. This brought the total solar PV systems capacity in Europe to 69 GW, enough to meet 2.4% of Europe’s electricity demand or to power all Italian households. Within the EU, Germany remains on top with an additional 7.6 GW. Italy can now cover over 7% of its electricity demand thanks to newly installed 3.5 GW.
In 2012, PV industry production increased again but more modestly than previous years, increasing by around 10% and reaching a worldwide production volume of about 38.5 GWp of photovoltaic modules. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the last decade was about 55 %, which makes photovoltaics one of the fastest growing industries at present.
According to the “PV Status Report 2013” issued by European Commission, for the third year in a row, solar power attracted the largest amount of new investments in renewable energies. Despite a 9% decline in solar energy investments, it attracted 57.7% of all new renewable energy investments or $137.7 billion.
In contrast to Europe and the Americas, where new investments in renewable energy decreased, new investments continued to increase in Asia/Oceania and reached $101 billion in 2012. Europe took second place with $62.1 billion, followed by the Americas with $50.3 billion. China became the largest investor in renewable energy, increasing investments by 20% to $65.1 billion, followed by the USA with $35.6 billion and Germany with $22.8 billion. The country with the biggest change in 2012 was South Africa, which moved into ninth place with investments totaling $5.5 billion.
Despite the problems of individual companies, business analysts are confident that the industry fundamentals as a whole will remain strong and that the overall PV sector will continue to experience significant long-term growth.
