Wind Energy

Global solar power photovoltaic growth doubled in 2010

Since 2007 the costs of solar panel prices have dropped significantly—down from $3.7 per watt to $1.8 per watt in 2010. While the United States isn’t reaching its solar power potential, new information from the European Photovoltaic Industry Association makes it clear that over the past year growth has been substantial worldwide.

The global increase compared with 7.2 GW of new capacity in 2009, confounding a financial crisis and reflecting sharp falls in solar panel prices and generous subsidies, especially in Germany and Italy. "Solar PV is continuing to develop in countries that put a feed-in tariff in place," said EPIA economist Gaetan Masson.

The added capacity in 2010 brought cumulative, global solar PV power to nearly 40 GW, up 70 percent from nearly 23 GW in 2009. Europe dominated new solar power installations last year, at about 13 gigawatts (GW), Masson estimated, with Germany and Italy accounting for nearly 7 GW and about 3 GW respectively.

Estimates for the other major European players included the Czech Republic (1.3 GW), France (0.5 GW), Spain (0.4), Belgium (0.25) and Greece (0.2). Outside Europe, the biggest markets were Japan (about 1 GW), United States (0.8 GW) and China (0.4 GW).

Solar panel prices have halved since 2007, say analysts, at about $1.8 per watt at the end of 2010 compared with $3.7 three years earlier. The fortunes of the solar energy market contrasted with wind energy, which last year shrank for the first time in two decades as a result of a difficult market for project finance as well as uncertain regulatory support.

www.epia.org/