Asia-Pacific Region To Account For Half Of Global Solar Photovoltaic Demand In 2014

0

Solar photovoltaic demand in 2014 will be dominated by the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, which will account for approximately 50% of all new solar PV demand next year, according to a new report by NPD Solarbuzz.

Findings from the latest NPD Solarbuzz APAC PV Markets Quarterly report indicate that almost 95% of new solar PV capacity in the APAC region in 2014 will come from just five countries: China, Japan, India, Australia and Thailand.

NPD Solarbuzz says APAC countries are forecast to install more than 23 GW of solar PV in 2014. The firm reports that would be a new record for solar PV installed annually within any region.

The record level of solar PV demand from the APAC region during 2014 will represent 35% annual growth, NPD Solarbuzz adds.

The firm notes that the Chinese Bureau of Energy recently announced an aggressive target of 12 GW for 2014, with 8 GW to be installed on rooftops and the remaining 4 GW on the ground. New investments also continue to drive the Japanese market, following the country's 230% annual growth this year, which will drive the pipeline of solar PV projects in Japan above 20 GW.

In addition, NPD Solarbuzz says Thailand is set to become the next major solar PV country in the APAC region in 2014, having increased its target for renewable energy contributions to 25% by 2021. The country's National Energy Policy committee has proposed 800 MW of community-based solar PV capacity, with an additional 200 MW to come from solar rooftops.

According to NPD Solarbuzz, despite efforts in China to increase the solar PV capacity located on rooftops through distributed generation, more than 50% of solar PV capacity installed across the APAC region during 2014 will come from ground-mounted projects, with less than a quarter of new PV capacity derived from residential and small commercial rooftop segments.

‘APAC will dominate both manufacturing supply and end-market demand in 2014, with more than 80 percent of module production also coming from the region,’ comments Steven Han, analyst at NPD Solarbuzz. ‘This milestone marks the final chapter in the transition from historic European domination to a new PV industry, where supply and demand from APAC will determine the basis of the 50 gigawatt global PV industry going into 2015.’

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments