The annual market has developed from less than 1 GW in 2003 to more than 7.2 GW in 2009
Europe is leading the way with almost 16 GW of installed capacity in 2009, representing about 70% of the World cumulative PV power installed at the end of 2009 while Japan(2.6 GW) and the US (1.6 GW) are following behind. China makes its entry into the TOP 10 of the World PV markets and is expected to become a major player in the coming years.
The European Union represented 5.6 GW or 78% of the World PV market in 2009. And in Europe itself, the German market clearly dominates with 68 % of the EU market. The emergence of Italy as a major market for PV, combined with the ramp-up of France and the impressive growth of the Czech Republic and Belgium, compensated the slowdown of the Spanish market.
Emerging markets for solar outside Europe are China, Japan, USA, Canada and Australia
Global Feed-in-Tariffs
The take up and growth of solar has been supported by the introduction of Feed-in-Tariff's (FiT) in many countries. A FiT is a support scheme that provides an incentive, in the form of payment, for the electricity produced by renewable energy sources such as solar. These payments are paid to the operators of the installed systems such as the householders, businesses, communities, utilities etc. Essentially you get paid for energy that you produce that is fed into the grid over a fixed period of time.
By 2009 the FiT system had incentivised 75% of PV capacity worldwide
In Australia, various states have a NET or GROSS Feed-in-Tariff’s for small generation units (SGU’s) which includes Solar PV Systems up to 10kW. NSW has the most generous Gross FiT offering 60cents per kWh for a period of 7 years (starting Jan 2010). This means that system owners will be paid for all the electricity that is produced by their system. The electricity they produce is fed directly into the grid. As for the electricity that they use, the system owner will continue to be charged by their electricity provider as normal, on average electricity costs are around 18 cents per kWh (depending on the electricity supplier)
Net vs Gross FiT’s
Under a Gross FiT system owners are paid for ALL the electricity produced by their system.
Under a NET FiT system owners will be paid based on the net electricity produced (Total electricity produced less electricity used)
Benefits of Feed-in Tariff’s
· Drives faster deployment of solar/renewable energy technology
· Accelerates the transition to a low carbon energy system
· Provides investment security
· Drives technological and service innovation
· Creates new jobs and industries
· Provides fairer market conditions
References for this page:
EPIA Global market Outlook for Photovoltaics until 2104 (Report, May 2010 Update)
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