A new study developed by the Kenya-based firm Renewable Energy Ventures (K) Ltd. for the World Future Council, the German Heinrich-Böll-Foundation and the UK environmental association Friends of the Earth aims to prove that the feed-in tariff mechanism would be the best way to spur the development of renewable energies in Africa. According to the study »Powering Africa through Feed-in-Tariffs,« FITs for renewable energies are the most effective tool to encourage investment in renewable energy generation, from individual home owners to large corporations.

Austria, Germany and Belgium recycled the largest proportion of municipal waste in Europe in 2010. Although some countries have rapidly increased recycling rates, Europe is still wasting vast quantities of valuable resources by sending them to landfill, and many countries risk falling short of legally binding recycling targets. 

The Japanese photovoltaic (PV) market is set to grow by 120 percent in 2013 and install more than 5 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity, according to a new report,  “The PV Market in Japan,” from IMS Research, now part of IHS Inc. (NYSE:IHS). Benefiting from the world’s most attractive PV incentive policy, Japan’s solar market is currently booming, with installations expected to exceed 1 GW in the first quarter alone, causing it to become the second largest market in 2013.

WASHINGTON, DC and BOSTON, MA - GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association^® (SEIA^®) today released U.S. Solar Market Insight: Year-in-Review 2012, the definitive analysis of solar power markets in the U.S.

With another record-breaking year, solar is the fastest growing energy source in the U.S., powering homes, businesses and utility grids across the nation. The Solar Market Insightannual edition shows the U.S. installed 3,313 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaics (PV) in 2012, a record for the industry. Perhaps most importantly, clean, reliable, affordable solar is continuing a major growth pattern that has made it a leading source of new electricity for America that’s increasingly competitive with conventional electricity across dozens of states today.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) demand will increase two gigawatts (GW), from 29 GW to 31 GW during 2013, up 7% Y/Y according to the new NPD Solarbuzz Marketbuzz 2013. For the first time, China will outpace Germany to become the leading PV consumer, while the top 10 PV territories will still account for 83% of global PV demand.

“2013 will represent another transition year, as the PV industry adjusts to softness across legacy European markets,” according to Michael Barker, senior analyst at NPD Solarbuzz. “The Chinese end-market will largely compensate for the downturn in demand from Germany, which previously led PV demand.”

Greece surpassed 1.5 GW of installed PV capacity at the end of January 2012. According to the Hellenic Transmission System Operator SA (HTSO), mainland Greece reached 1,404 MW of installed grid-connected PV capacity after adding 278 MW in January. This is up from 69 MW added in December. HTSO’s figures do not include the installed capacity of non-interconnected Greek islands, which – according to the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator SA (HEDNO) – reached 115.77 MW at the end of January, growing by 3.37 MW. This means that Greece now has a total installed PV capacity of 1,519.77 MW. About 316 MW of Greece’s total installed capacity comes from PV systems that are 10 kW in size or smaller. On the mainland, the three regions with the most installed capacity are the South Aegean (233,152 MW), the Peloponnese (218,787 MW) and Thessaly (188,384 MW). Crete accounts for more than half of the islands’ installed PV capacity, with 74.7 MW.

A new survey conducted by IMS Research – now part of IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS) – of more than 400 global photovoltaic (PV) inverter customers has revealed a rapidly growing need for energy storage in PV systems. Despite the infancy of the energy storage market, nearly one third of respondents indicated that they expect to be using energy storage in over 40 percent of the PV systems they install by 2015. The recent survey of global installers, system integrators and wholesalers also revealed that Chinese PV inverters are gaining acceptance and that the high price of microinverters is the main barrier to them gaining share.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) demand for 2012 reached just 29.0 GW, an increase of only 5% year-over-year compared to 27.7 GW in 2011, according to findings within the upcoming NPD Solarbuzz Marketbuzz report. This is the first time in a decade that year-over-year market growth in the PV industry has been less than 10%.

The market for photovoltaic (PV) inverter service plans and extended warranties is forecast to grow by 110 percent between 2012 and 2017, according to a recent report entitled PV Inverter Service Plans & Extended Warranties from IMS Research, now part of IHS Inc. (NYSE:IHS). Despite PV inverter hardware profit margins being squeezed, the after-sales service market is forecast to more than double by 2017 to reach $1.7 billion, providing suppliers with a valuable additional profit source. 

Solar photovoltaic (PV) demand from the Asia Pacific (APAC) region is forecast to grow to 13.5 GW in 2013, growing 50% Y/Y, according to the NPD Solarbuzz Q1’13 Asia Pacific Major PV Markets Quarterly report.

China, Japan, India, and Australia remain dominant for PV demand in the APAC region, and they will account for 90% of APAC demand in 2013. However, discrete end-market demand environments are now evolving in each of these countries. As a result, PV suppliers and technologies are being selected in each territory based upon factors such as domestic manufacturing, policies, import duties, and customer preferences.

The newly created association of European solar glass producers EU Pro SunGlass has filed a complaint at the European Commission against imports of solar glass from China. The president of the association and CEO of the solar glass producer GMB Glasmanufaktur Brandenburg GmbH, Ulrich Frei, told PHOTON that the EC is considering the opening of an investigation.

Constantly evolving and more efficient technology provided at lower prices, combined with a need for energy security and independence, will ensure the continued rise of solar photovoltaic (PV) power across the world, states research and consulting firm GlobalData.

Global photovoltaic (PV) installations will rise this year in a continuing pattern of solid growth, but the industry will nonetheless suffer a decline in overall revenue due to lower volume growth and decreasing system prices, according to an IHS Solar white paper from information and analytics provider IHS (NYSE: IHS).

PV installations are projected to reach 35 gigawatts (GW) this year, up from 32 GW in 2012. In comparison, industry revenue—measured as the system price multiplied by total gigawatts installed—will retreat to an estimated $75 billion, down from $77 billion last year, and exhibiting an even steeper fall from the market’s peak revenue of $94 billion in 2011.

The European Forecasting Network (EFN) is a research group of European institutions, founded under the auspices of the European Commission, and currently partly financially supported by the European University Institute (EUI, based in Florence, Italy), which is coordinating the report under the responsibility of Prof. Massimiliano Marcellino.

The report provides updated forecasts and analyses of the macroeconomic situation for the Euro area.

After a disastrous third quarter of 2012 featuring extremely low factory utilization rates across the entire photovoltaic (PV) supply chain, a surge in demand was seen in the final quarter of the year for PV modules. A new PV module shipment record of 11 gigawatts (GW) was reached in the fourth quarter according to the IHS Solar Integrated Market Tracker from information and analytics provider IHS (NYSE: IHS). Despite this positive sign the situation of the global PV industry remains critical and a substantial recovery of the supply-demand balance is not expected to occur before the second half of 2013.