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The future's so bright that suppliers of
photovoltaic (PV) and solar power systems need to wear shades. That's the word
from iSuppli, a market research firm that's predicting a nearly 40% rise in
global demand for solar energy in 2011. Although this year's increase won't be
as brilliant as 2010, when the world's PV market grew by over 120%, iSuppli
estimates that solar energy in 2011 will offer the world 22.2 GW of power, a still
sizable increase from 16 GW in 2010.
This year, global demand will be driven largely by
the strength of the German, Italian and U.S. markets. Germany, the world's
largest PV market with nearly 9.5 GW of solar installations, may not grow
according to iSuppli's sunnier estimates, however. Further reductions in the central European nation's
feed-in-tariff (FIT) program would limit payment incentives that encourage electricity
generators to use renewable resources such as solar energy. In southern Europe,
however, the forecast for the PV market calls for clearer skies. According to
iSuppli, Italy's solar installations will double this year and provide
investors with one of the world's highest rates of return.
The United States is expected to remain in third place
in 2011, with 2.1 GW worth of growth. Federal incentives to "go solar" are expected
to decrease, with greater responsibility put upon the shoulders of states that aim
to install more PV and solar power systems.
Do you agree with iSuppli's predictions for 2011?
Source: EDN
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Re: Will Solar Power Enjoy a Sunny 2011?
