Global PV market to hit $32bn by 2012

The global market for photovoltaic (PV) solar cells will more than double over the next five years as increased demand for energy and concerns over climate change combine to deliver a compound average annual growth rate for the sector of almost 15 per cent.

That is the conclusion of new research from BCC Research that found that global sales of PV technologies hit $12.9bn last year and predicted that the market would be worth over $32.3bn by 2012.

With the cost of solar panels expected to fall as manufacturers scale up production capacity, the growth of the market in terms of energy capacity is expected to be more impressive still. BCC estimates that capacity will grow 30 per cent a year with the industry delivering 13,724Mw of annual new capacity by 2013.

The report claimed that despite concerns over supplies, silicon-based cells would continue to dominate the market up to 2013. However, it predicted that thin film technologies, which currently account for 10 per cent of the global market, would enjoy rapid growth and account for almost 19 per cent of the PV market by 2013.

New technologies such as nanostructured thin films and silicon and dye-sensitised solar cells were also highlighted as new growth sectors for the industry. The report claimed that while these sectors currently account for less than one per cent of the market, they are set to grow at more than 50 per cent a year through to 2013 as the technology matures.

The research comes as a separate study from US think tank the Earth Policy Institute last week predicted that production costs for PV cells will fall to just $1 per watt by 2012, making the technology competitive on price with coal-fired electricity.