2013: Record-year for solar photovoltaics, accelerating mkt globalisation

GERMANY: The European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) released its new report "Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics 2014-2018".

Compared to the two previous years, where global installed capacity hovered slightly above 30 GW annually, the PV market progressed remarkably in 2013, reaching a new record-level. Nevertheless, for the first time since 2003, Europe, with a very high and stable level of nearly 11 GW connected to the grid in 2013, lost its leadership to Asia. PV markets have become global!

EPIA's major findings for 2013 include:

* At least 38.4 GW of PV systems were installed globally in 2013, up from 30 GW in 2012.

* Almost 11 GW of PV capacity were installed in Europe in 2013, compared to 17.7 GW in 2012.

* China (11.8 GW) was the top market in 2013, followed by Japan (6.9 GW) and the USA (4.8 GW).

* Germany was the top European market with 3.3 GW. Several other European markets exceeded the one GW mark: the UK (1.5 GW), Italy (1.4 GW), Romania (1.1 GW) and Greece (1.04 GW).

* PV now covers 3% of the electricity demand and 6% of the peak electricity demand in Europe.

* Several European markets that performed well in the past went down in 2013: Belgium (215 MW), France (613 MW) and Denmark (200 MW).

* Outside Europe, several markets continued to grow at a reasonable pace, including India (1,115 MW), Korea (442 MW), Thailand (317 MW) and Canada (444 MW).

EPIA forecasts indicate that the globalisation trend of PV markets observed in 2013 will continue and further accentuate in the coming years. "The forecast for Europe in the next years should, however, be put into perspective and be considered as a stabilisation towards a solid level, around 10 GW a year," stated Oliver Schäfer, EPIA president, during the launch of the report at the Intersolar Europe Opening Session.

"Europe's situation at the end of last year shows that PV, as any other energy business, remains policy-driven. A series of retrospective measures were implemented in the last years in various European countries, leading to the sharp market decrease observed in 2013. Sustainable, predictable and dynamic framework condition and policies are needed in Europe and globally to provide enough visibility to investors."

For the third year in a row, PV in 2013 was amongst the two most installed sources of electricity in the EU. "PV is becoming a major part of the electricity system all over the globe, changing the way our world is powered. Policymakers and energy stakeholders should now understand that electricity grids and markets need to be adapted to fit these new realities and facilitate a cost-efficient energy transition," said Schäfer.