US confirmed its trend with 342 megawatt (MW) newly installed capacities, followed by South Korea which registered 274 MW of PV installations over the year. Italy connected almost 260 MW while France, Portugal, Belgium and the Czech Republic made good scores.
“A diversification of the market is taking place with countries adopting appropriate support policies, this is very good news for the PV industry and the environment” EPIA President Dr. Winfried Hoffmann said.
EPIA’s market and production forecasts for the next five years were also presented. Given the current crisis context, high uncertainties over the 2009 market exist. In 2009, experts believe the market could reach up to 7 GW, each individual country’s development influencing the final figure. In particular Spain recently changed its support scheme, setting-up a cap which will limit the development of the global market in 2009. The PV sector is hoping other markets such as the US, Germany, France and Italy will pull the demand. Favourable policy frameworks are expected to further accelerate PV deployment in these countries. In 2013, the global PV market could reach 22 GW if appropriate policies, such as feed-in tariffs, are in place.
