It may sound crazy, but the loss of Chinese tax breaks that will lead to higher solar panel prices is good news for the solar energy sector. One of the reasons that the demand for solar panels has declined worldwide is the ever-decreasing price. After all, this makes it interesting to postpone the purchase.

That is now changing, because since December 1, the Chinese government has reduced the export tax refund by 4 percent. Chinese manufacturers of solar panels can now only get 9 percent of this tax back. “The remaining 9 percent will also be lost in the first half of 2025,” says Scheper.

Also see: November 2024 pv.index – Steady market confidence as prices drop across categories

“The Chinese government is done with it. The Chinese economy has been doing less well than desired for some time and this tax benefit for solar panels is seen as unnecessary. The prices of solar panels, wafers and cells can hardly be lower, so why do you need a tax break any longer? These can be the first signs of a curve bend towards price increases. Then postponing the purchase becomes less and less interesting.“

„Storage really seen as the new gold“

This does not mean that the problems are over, as consumer demand worldwide is lower than expected and lower than supply. This has created production overcapacity worldwide that Scheper estimates to be potentially around “50 to 100 percent”. According to SolarPower Europe’s EU Market Outlook for Solar Power 2024-2028, the number of installed solar panels in half of the top 10 countries was lower than last year. In addition to the Netherlands, these are Spain, Poland, Austria and Hungary.

Also see: SolarPower Europe report: EU solar market with only weak growth

The other top 10 countries (Germany, Italy, France, Greece and Portugal) did see their installation figures grow, but much less strong than in 2023. While the number of installed solar panels in 2023 was 40 percent higher than in 2022, the number of installed solar panels is expected to increase by only 4 percent in 2024.

Download the full World of Solar report for free

“During and after the COVID 19 pandemic, many investers stepped into the solar energy sector because huge growth figures were being achieved. They now think: ‘What a crazy market this is.’ It has only cost them money. Partly because of this, solar panels are not popular with investors, but also because the manufacturers’ products are fairly interchangeable. Inverters are already a bit more complex, so there is a little more margin on them. But storage is really seen as the new gold,” says Scheper.

„Best for companies to work together as much as possible“

“What many people thought is that the solar energy sector would step aside and start doing storage now, but that turns out not to be so easy. Both home batteries and large-scale battery installations are not plug-and-play modules. You have to be able to install them, provide associated software and maintenance service, and to be able to act you have to work with local parties. This creates a new playing field and it is not at all certain who the winners of battery sales will be.“

Also see: Central & Eastern Europe – Utility-scale storage market set to increase fivefold by 2030

According to Scheper, this has created another situation in which many technicians are without financial resources and many investors without the right technical knowledge. “That offers an opportunity for companies, but that is easier said than done, because where is the added value of your company? The technical knowledge of batteries is not necessarily in the solar energy sector and the financial resources are not widely available at the moment. It is therefore best for companies to work together as much as possible, for example with logistics and purchasing, and thus offer added value to technicians and investors.“ (GS/hcn)





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“Actually, things are going badly all over the world,” says Gerard Scheper. “Only in the US, Australia and China things are still going quite well.”

With consumer demand still very low, market recovery seems a long way off. A phenomenon that plays out worldwide with a few exceptions. “Very little is still happening in the private market and the pipeline for 2025 is still virtually empty for many companies,” says Scheper.

Low margins – storage market a cycle path

“On top of that, the margins on the products sold are also low. When the market emerged, there were still gross margins of 25 percent with low sales. After sales went up, that margin dropped towards 15 percent. Now companies are on margins of 10 to 15 percent and nothing is being sold. Although the sale of home batteries can compensate somewhat, they are still not the volumes in which solar panels were sold until recently.”

Also see: “A company cannot be on hold for a year”

The business market is a completely different story. “That works out quite well. The market is at about 80 percent of what it was until recently. Here, too, more and more projects with energy storage of up to 100 kilowatt hours are being built. Especially for farmers and SMEs, who already have solar panels on their roofs, an investment in battery storage is extremely lucrative. Until recently, the solar market was a really busy, big highway. The energy storage market is just a cycle path,” says Scheper.

New players are entering the market

“Energy storage is much more complicated in terms of certification, bank guarantees, grid connection and software. Connecting the software to the grid is also more complicated because it can differ per country what this looks like. In the Netherlands, for example, this is very different from Belgium and Germany. On top of that, you don’t always have to deal with the most flexible parties. That also makes it interesting, because it is not at all certain that the brands that are now big in the battery market will soon dominate the market. Whole new players are entering the market.”

For the free WOS storage report, register here: https://theworldofsolar.com/free-market-outlook-report

The fact that the solar energy market is not moving fast is a global phenomenon. After energy prices have dropped back to their old level, the increased demand for solar panels does not appear to be permanent. “Only in the US, Australia and China things are still going quite well. In the US, solar panel producers can get three times more for their panels than in Europe. As a result, they still earn more in the US – despite the import tariffs – than in Europe,” says Scheper.

Changes in the Chinese domestic market

“This is leading to Chinese solar panel manufacturers moving their European teams en masse to these areas. Chinese manufacturers who previously focused only on foreign markets are now also focusing on their own domestic market. Some of them have had a domestic office and a sales team for one or two years, they do have a chance. Or they enter into a partnership with another party that has been active there for a while.”

Also see: Central & Eastern Europe: Utility-scale storage market set to increase fivefold by 2030

But according to Scheper, something else is changing in the Chinese market. “Producers of polysilicon and wafers are taking matters into their own hands and are now also producing and selling solar panels. They have a stable overcapacity of 50 percent and think they can earn more if they also make the end product themselves. In this way, they do not have to scale down their production of polysilicon and wafers.”

Reduced tax benefit on Chinese module exports

Finally, it is the top Tier 1 manufacturers who have put their stock on sale for some areas at even lower prices. “In this way, they want to create liquidity and then they just leave that area. Dutch companies in the solar energy sector will therefore have to ask for clarity from their Chinese suppliers: How important is Europe to you and what will that be like in the next quarter?”

Also see: General price decline continues amid steady demand in the European solar market

Last Friday it was announced that the Chinese government has intervened and reduced a tax benefit on the export of solar panels by 4%. This means that all panels shipped from China after 1-12 will become 4% more expensive. The rumors are that the Chinese government may also reverse the remaining 9% tax benefit and that could mean that the price will be driven up by 13% in a short time. (GS/hcn)





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Due to supportive policies and favourable economics, the world’s renewable power capacity is expected to surge over the rest of this decade, with global additions on course to roughly equal the current power capacity of China, the European Union, India and the United States combined, according to a new IEA report.

The Renewables 2024 report, the IEA’s flagship annual publication on the sector, finds that the world is set to add more than 5 500 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable energy capacity between 2024 and 2030 – almost three times the increase seen between 2017 and 2023.

According to the report, China is set to account for almost 60% of all renewable capacity installed worldwide between now and 2030, based on current market trends and today’s policy settings by governments. That would make China home to almost half of the world’s total renewable power capacity by the end of this decade, up from a share of a third in 2010. While China is adding the biggest volumes of renewables, India is growing at the fastest rate among major economies.

PV as the most important growth driver

In terms of technologies, solar PV alone is forecast to account for a massive 80% of the growth in global renewable capacity between now and 2030 – the result of the construction of new large solar power plants as well as an increase in rooftop solar installations by companies and households. And despite ongoing challenges, the wind sector is also poised for a recovery, with the rate of expansion doubling between 2024 and 2030, compared with the period between 2017 and 2023. Already, wind and solar PV are the cheapest options to add new electricity generation in almost every country.

Also see: Solar continues on its growth path – challenges remain

As a result of these trends, nearly 70 countries that collectively account for 80% of global renewable power capacity are poised to reach or surpass their current renewable ambitions for 2030. The growth is not fully in line with the goal set by nearly 200 governments at the COP28 climate change conference in December 2023 to triple the world’s renewable capacity this decade – the report forecasts global capacity will reach 2.7 times its 2022 level by 2030. But IEA analysis indicates that fully meeting the tripling target is entirely possible if governments take near-term opportunities for action. This includes outlining bold plans in the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement due next year, and bolstering international cooperation on bringing down high financing costs in emerging and developing economies, which are restraining renewables’ growth in high-potential regions such as Africa and Southeast Asia.

Renewables the cheapest option

“Renewables are moving faster than national governments can set targets for. This is mainly driven not just by efforts to lower emissions or boost energy security – it’s increasingly because renewables today offer the cheapest option to add new power plants in almost all countries around the world,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

„This report shows that the growth of renewables, especially solar, will transform electricity systems across the globe this decade. Between now and 2030, the world is on course to add more than 5 500 gigawatts of renewable power capacity – roughly equal the current power capacity of China, the European Union, India and the United States combined. By 2030, we expect renewables to be meeting half of global electricity demand.”

Also see: Global boom in renewables by almost 50 per cent to nearly 510 gigawatts

Renewables are on course to generate almost half of global electricity by 2030, with the share of wind and solar PV doubling to 30%, according to the forecast. However, the report emphasises the need for governments to ramp up their efforts to securely integrate variable renewable sources such as solar PV and wind into power systems.

Recently, rates of curtailment – where renewable electricity generation isn’t put to use – have been increasing substantially, already reaching around 10% in several countries today. To address this, countries should focus on integration measures such as increasing power system flexibility. Making a concerted push to address policy uncertainties and streamline permitting processes – and to build and modernise 25 million kilometres of electricity grids and reach 1 500 GW of storage capacity by 2030, as highlighted in previous IEA analysis – would enable even larger shares of generation from renewables.

Renewable fuels lagging behind

Overall, led by the massive growth of renewable electricity, the share of renewables in final energy consumption is forecast to increase to nearly 20% by 2030, up from 13% in 2023. Meanwhile, renewable fuels – the subject of a special chapter in the report – are lagging behind, underscoring the need for dedicated policy support to decarbonise sectors that are hard to electrify.

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Meeting international climate goals would require not only accelerating the rollout of renewable power, but also significantly speeding up the adoption of sustainable biofuels, biogases, hydrogen and e-fuels, the report notes. Since these fuels remain more expensive than their fossil counterparts, their share in global energy is set to remain below 6% in 2030.

The report also looks at the state of manufacturing for renewable technologies. Global solar manufacturing capacity is expected to surpass 1 100 GW by the end of 2024, more than double projected demand. While this supply glut, concentrated in China, has supported a decline in module prices – which have more than halved since early 2023 as a result – it also means that many manufacturers are seeing large financial losses.

Global diversification in PV manufacturing

Given the growing international focus on industrial competitiveness, solar PV manufacturing capacity is forecast to triple in both India and the United States by 2030, helping global diversification. However, producing solar panels in the United States costs three times as much as in China, and in India, it is twice as expensive. According to the report, policymakers should consider how to strike a balance between the additional costs and benefits of local manufacturing, weighing key priorities such as job creation and energy security. (hcn)





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The prices of new Topcon double-glass modules with an efficiency of 22 percent and above in particular were revised downwards significantly in May and June. They are getting closer to the mainstream, so they are not giving manufacturers any breathing space. Competition is brutal, as faster market growth cannot be expected in the short term.

Growing too fast

The reason: the major Chinese suppliers have expanded their plants to 500 gigawatts in the past two years. Last year, the domestic market in China only took around 280 gigawatts. This year it could be 340 gigawatts. Because the Americans have reacted to the price dumping with punitive tariffs, only Europe remains as a sales market.
Solar modules are therefore offered in Europe for less than twelve euro cents. The cost of production in China is 13 to 14 cents. The costs for transportation by sea, customs and storage in Rotterdam as well as distribution by truck within Europe must be deducted from this.

Chinese banks are exercising caution

In contrast to the first crisis twelve years ago, Beijing will not be opening its coffers this time to bail out manufacturers with loans. In 2011 and 2012, an estimated 20 billion US dollars flowed to module manufacturers who were facing bankruptcy after the collapse of the feed-in tariff in Germany. At that time, the Chinese domestic market did not buy enough goods to make up for the shortfall in exports.

Also see: China wants to curb expansion of production capacity

It was reported in Munich that Chinese banks had been instructed to stop extending bad loans. The economy in China is in a tailspin. Nerves are on edge in Beijing. The bankruptcy of the Evergrande real estate group has triggered a national crisis, as millions of Chinese have been cheated and are now without housing.

No price turnaround with new cells

Back to the module business: hopes that more powerful modules with new cell technologies would turn the tide have not yet been fulfilled. Only a few solar modules with back-contact or tandem technology have seen an upward trend. Apparently, production of N-type Topcon cells and such modules has now been ramped up in China.

Dealers and installers still have large stocks of modules produced in 2023 or earlier. If these modules have the usual area of two square meters for roof systems in Germany, they are selling increasingly poorly due to their low output.

Building owners usually want the highest possible output and the latest technology in new systems. This makes it difficult to reduce stocks – and is a challenge for wholesalers.

Old stocks are being sold off

The stock of old modules, which was purchased at significantly higher prices, must be further devalued. However, not all players are able to do this, resulting in very different prices for modules with Perc cells on the market. Overall, the price difference between the categories is therefore shrinking.

Only those module manufacturers who can set themselves apart from the flood of mass-produced goods have a chance. And: it is far from certain that sheer size will actually ensure economic success – survival in the brutal module market.

Also interesting: Demand steady as prices continue to decline

Even if the situation is chaotic at the moment, there are likely to be some advantages for European manufacturers – at least in the long term: Lower transportation costs and associated emissions, proximity to customers, comprehensive service for installation partners. (hs/hcn)
German version here





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It has been the big concern of the solar industry for months: low prices. Chinese solar panel manufacturers have significantly expanded their production capacity in the past two years, without a significant increase in demand. The increase in demand caused by the COVID pandemic and the energy crisis turned out to be more temporary than expected.
Due to the widening gap between supply and demand, selling prices fell for months on end. This decline was so rapid that traders were left with overpriced lots. In the Netherlands, also the demand for solar panels has fallen sharply.

At the largest global solar energy fair SNEC, the atmosphere was not very optimistic, says Scheper. “It was the biggest SNEC ever, but everyone involved in solar panels complained a lot. Worldwide demand is simply very disappointing, while production capacity has doubled.“

See also: Market turmoil continues: JinkoSolar taken off Tier 1 list

In recent years, the solar industry has often struggled with persistent supply chain bottlenecks that have caused rapid price increases and decreases. For example, containers were poorly available for a period of time, causing logistics costs to explode, there were temporary raw material shortages, interest rate fluctuations and so on.
“But in all those periods, it was one or two links in the supply chain that were disappointing, so that the rest could often benefit from rising prices. Now everyone is suffering from the lower prices, which means that the dynamics of the market are gone,” says Scheper.

“Quite recently, only the logistics branch has become the exception to the rule. For example, the container price has risen from 900 to 9,000 dollars per container since the beginning of this year. With the current low prices, transport costs account for 25 percent of the total cost per panel. Overproduction remains the central problem that needs to be solved.“

Chinese measures

The Chinese government has now taken a first step towards a solution. Bloomberg reports that the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will impose restrictions on manufacturers. They must not increase their production capacity any further and must use the financial resources freed up to improve existing product technology and reduce production costs.

This is a remarkable move by the Chinese government, because in the long term it is still aiming for a larger production capacity. By pausing these expansions now, we are clearly opting for the short term. Not something China is known for. What will undoubtedly have played a role is that several major manufacturers recently announced that they had suffered huge losses and therefore insisted on government intervention.

See also the latest pv.index of sun.store: Demand steady as prices continue to decline

Although this step will prevent further expansion of the existing overcapacity, it is not a solution to the current supply surplus. In addition, while reducing production costs will help manufacturers to reduce their operational costs, this is of no use to a trader with a too big and overpriced stock. They are only benefited by rising panel prices.
Countries such as the US, India and Turkey have put a significant brake on the import of Chinese solar panels with import restrictions. Europe remains wary of this, even though it has done so before for Chinese electric cars. But while the EU still has plenty of alternatives to electric cars available, this does not apply to solar panels – a market that is completely dominated by China.

Large-scale projects are the exception to the rule

Large-scale solar energy projects are still running reasonably well at the moment, Scheper observes. “That market is not doing badly, so the solar installation figures are still quite reasonable, but that is mainly due to investments in energy storage.“

A phenomenon that is becoming visible in a large part of Europe. According to recent research by SolarPower Europe, the European battery market grew by 94 percent in 2023 compared to 2022. A total of 17.2 gigawatt hours of battery capacity was installed.

Get the full World of Solar market report 2024 for free download here

“With large-scale batteries, you can currently achieve your returns on the imbalance market. In addition, many companies in the solar energy sector have started selling home batteries. However, this is not a structural solution either. If the flex offer is significantly increased in the coming years, it will change its own business case. Then it’s just a matter of waiting for an increased solar energy supply.” (GS/hcn)





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It has been the big concern of the solar industry for months: low prices. Chinese solar panel manufacturers have significantly expanded their production capacity in the past two years, without a significant increase in demand. The increase in demand caused by the COVID pandemic and the energy crisis turned out to be more temporary than expected.
Due to the widening gap between supply and demand, selling prices fell for months on end. This decline was so rapid that traders were left with overpriced lots. In the Netherlands, also the demand for solar panels has fallen sharply.

At the largest global solar energy fair SNEC, the atmosphere was not very optimistic, says Scheper. “It was the biggest SNEC ever, but everyone involved in solar panels complained a lot. Worldwide demand is simply very disappointing, while production capacity has doubled.“

See also: Market turmoil continues: JinkoSolar taken off Tier 1 list

In recent years, the solar industry has often struggled with persistent supply chain bottlenecks that have caused rapid price increases and decreases. For example, containers were poorly available for a period of time, causing logistics costs to explode, there were temporary raw material shortages, interest rate fluctuations and so on.
“But in all those periods, it was one or two links in the supply chain that were disappointing, so that the rest could often benefit from rising prices. Now everyone is suffering from the lower prices, which means that the dynamics of the market are gone,” says Scheper.

“Quite recently, only the logistics branch has become the exception to the rule. For example, the container price has risen from 900 to 9,000 dollars per container since the beginning of this year. With the current low prices, transport costs account for 25 percent of the total cost per panel. Overproduction remains the central problem that needs to be solved.“

Chinese measures

The Chinese government has now taken a first step towards a solution. Bloomberg reports that the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will impose restrictions on manufacturers. They must not increase their production capacity any further and must use the financial resources freed up to improve existing product technology and reduce production costs.

This is a remarkable move by the Chinese government, because in the long term it is still aiming for a larger production capacity. By pausing these expansions now, we are clearly opting for the short term. Not something China is known for. What will undoubtedly have played a role is that several major manufacturers recently announced that they had suffered huge losses and therefore insisted on government intervention.

See also the latest pv.index of sun.store: Demand steady as prices continue to decline

Although this step will prevent further expansion of the existing overcapacity, it is not a solution to the current supply surplus. In addition, while reducing production costs will help manufacturers to reduce their operational costs, this is of no use to a trader with a too big and overpriced stock. They are only benefited by rising panel prices.
Countries such as the US, India and Turkey have put a significant brake on the import of Chinese solar panels with import restrictions. Europe remains wary of this, even though it has done so before for Chinese electric cars. But while the EU still has plenty of alternatives to electric cars available, this does not apply to solar panels – a market that is completely dominated by China.

Large-scale projects are the exception to the rule

Large-scale solar energy projects are still running reasonably well at the moment, Scheper observes. “That market is not doing badly, so the solar installation figures are still quite reasonable, but that is mainly due to investments in energy storage.“

A phenomenon that is becoming visible in a large part of Europe. According to recent research by SolarPower Europe, the European battery market grew by 94 percent in 2023 compared to 2022. A total of 17.2 gigawatt hours of battery capacity was installed.

Get the full World of Solar market report 2024 for free download here

“With large-scale batteries, you can currently achieve your returns on the imbalance market. In addition, many companies in the solar energy sector have started selling home batteries. However, this is not a structural solution either. If the flex offer is significantly increased in the coming years, it will change its own business case. Then it’s just a matter of waiting for an increased solar energy supply.” (GS/hcn)





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The state-of-the-art facility is the world’s first Lighthouse Factory in the PV industry. It integrates more than 30 digital use cases and sets a new benchmark for high-quality development and intelligent manufacturing in the photovoltaic sector.

Vice President Haimeng Zhang highlighted the primary reasons for setting up the Lighthouse Factory: to meet the changing and diverse needs of customers and to ensure consistency in production processes across different sites.

Ensuring global production consistency through the use of fourth industrial revolution (4IR) technologies

As module manufacturing scales globally, it is critical to maintain consistency across different distributed production sites. LONGi’s Lighthouse Factory addresses this challenge by using advanced technologies such as the Industrial Internet of Things (iIoT), big data, artificial intelligence and digital twins. This approach has been recognized by the World Economic Forum (WEF), which has included the Jiaxing Lighthouse Factory in its latest “Lighthouse Factory” list.

Expansion of the Lighthouse project to other production sites

LONGi has also introduced the “Lighthouse Project”, which aims to transfer the agile intelligent manufacturing model of the Jiaxing Lighthouse Factory to other production sites. “The LONGi Jiaxing Lighthouse Factory is just the beginning,” explained Haimeng Zhang. “Our goal is to develop it into a state-of-the-art production facility that can be replicated in the future.”

See our interview with LONGi: “The PV industry is navigating a complex competitive landscape”

Improving research and development while ensuring highly efficient, digitalized manufacturing processes
LONGi has always prioritized technological research and development to increase productivity through innovation, Zhang said. The company’s progress has resulted in record-breaking performances, including a conversion efficiency of 27.30% for heterojunction back contact (HBC) crystalline silicon solar cells and an efficiency of 33.9% for perovskite tandem crystalline silicon solar cells.

Video: How AI and automation are driving LONGi’s production base in Jiaxing

The PV industry is increasingly driven by customer needs, requiring the production of modules that meet specific requirements. LONGi recognized that improving R&D is important, but it is not the only solution. Efficient manufacturing processes are essential to meet diverse customer requirements, ensure flexible production for different applications and speed up product delivery.

New Hi-MO X6 Max series is produced in the Lighthouse Factory

The Lighthouse Factory in Jiaxing will serve as the production base for the Hi-MO X6 high power back contact module and will also be the production site for LONGi’s newly launched Hi-MO X6 Max module series. These modules are characterized by the innovative TaiRay Inside silicon wafer technology and Hybrid Passivated Back Contact Cells (HPBC) and feature the rectangular silicon wafer size M11 as well as a standard size of 2382×1134 mm. According to the company, the series offers improved stability, reliability and power generation efficiency.

Also see: LONGi presents enhanced back contact PV modules

Employees benefit significantly from training measures and a modern working environment

The Lighthouse Factory has significantly improved the working environment for employees, allowing them to master digital tools, improve their skills and become high-quality employees. “This is also the biggest advantage of Lighthouse Factory,” Haimeng Zhang remarked. (hcn)





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2023’s new solar installations would cover more than half of India’s annual electricity needs or more than Brazil’s entire consumption. Compared to Europe, the annual installations would exceed the total yearly electricity consumption of Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Czechia, Austria, Portugal, and Greece – combined.

SolarPower Europe’s annual Global Market Outlook for Solar Power 2024-2028 reveals growth rates not seen in over a decade, since 2010 when the global solar market was only 4% of what it is today.

Solar continues to soar amongst its renewable colleagues, installing 78% of the total renewable energy installed around the world in 2023. This is reflected in the IEA World Energy Investment (WEI) 2024 report, which demonstrates that investment in solar PV in 2023 surpasses all other energy sources combined.

Growth expected to slow

Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe said, “The world has truly entered its solar age. The sky is no longer the limit. How far solar can go will be determined by equitable global access to financing, and the political will to deliver flexible energy systems fit for the renewable reality.”

The top 10 markets represent 80% of global solar installations in 2023, with the leaderboard disproportionately drawn from advanced economies. While the number of advanced solar markets – installing at least 1 GW annually – grew in 2023 to reach 31 countries (up from 28 in 2022), the list does not heavily feature emerging economies. As per the WEI 2024 report, clean energy spending in emerging and developing economies only accounts for 15% of total clean energy investment worldwide. $ 12 trillion USD needs to be deployed to achieve the COP28 target of tripling renewables by 2030 – solar will deliver half of this target.

Looking to the future, the world is set to reach more than 2 TW of total solar capacity this year, having only reached the 1 TW level in 2022. However, between 2024 and 2028, year-on-year growth is expected to slow in the face of high interest rates, an energy crisis resolved – for now, and grids around the world struggling to keep up with renewable demand.

Solar Power Europe

Scenarios for the annual growth of the global PV market.

Michael Schmela, Director of Market Intelligence at SolarPower Europe said, “It’s all just a little bit of history repeating – the world revises its solar estimates upwards and we get a glimpse at the vast potential of solar. By 2028, we could be installing more than 1 TW of solar a year. It’s now about setting targets in line with reality, and addressing the familiar challenges – permitting, regulations enabling profitable business models, and the new frontier – system flexibility, through vast amounts of battery storage capacities.  The sector is ready to deliver the decarbonised energy system, and policymakers must wake up to the climate and energy security solution on their doorsteps.”

China dominating – „stay united as an industry“

For now, it seems that China will determine the rate of global solar growth, though it continues to be one of the most dynamic, and difficult to predict, markets. In 2023 alone, China installed 57% of global capacity – 253 GW – equivalent to the levels installed globally in 2022. On the manufacturing side, a massive scale-up of capacity have led to solar panel price collapses of around 50% last year, and a growing consolidation of the solar manufacturing industry in the country.

Sonia Dunlop, CEO of the Global Solar Council said: “China continues to set the pace of the global solar transition. But to keep 1.5C alive, it is more important than ever that we stay united as an industry. No one country or company can achieve this goal on their own. We must work together to build new markets with untapped potential, create fair and resilient supply chains, and inject massive amounts finance for solar to lead the energy transition.”

Also see: Market turmoil continues – JinkoSolar taken off Tier 1 list

To better understand solar developments in China, this year’s report covers the country in a dedicated chapter, provided by the Global Solar Council and its member, the Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association (CREIA).

See also: “The PV industry is navigating a complex competitive landscape”

Launched annually at Intersolar Europe in Munich, the Global Market Outlook for Solar Power is produced in partnership with the Global Solar Council. (hcn)





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