PARIS – Worldwide solar photovoltaic (PV) market installations grew to 27.4 gigawatts (GW) in 2011, up 40 percent year over year. The PV industry generated $93 billion in revenues in 2011, up 12 percent year over year, according to market watcher Solarbuzz LLC.
The new Solarbuzz annual PV market report indicated that worldwide solar cell production amounted to 29.5 GW in 2011, compared to 23.0 GW in 2010. Thin-film production represented 11 percent of total production.
The excess of solar cell production over demand in the first half of 2011 implied that market-weighted average crystalline silicon factory-gate module prices declined by 28 percent in 2011. This compares to a 14 percent drop in 2010.
According to Solarbuzz, the top five PV markets in 2011 were Germany, Italy, China, the United States and France, accounting for 74 percent of global demand. The market research company highlighted that China rocketed by 470 percent year over year, moving from the seventh place in 2010 to the third place in 2011.
In 2011, Solarbuzz noted that European countries represented 67 percent, or 18.7 GW, of world demand. This contrasts with 82 percent in 2010.
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