Solar Photovoltaic Cell Market Report – 2008 Edition
Solar Photovoltaic Cell Market Report – 2008 Edition (Koncept Analytics)
Published Date: 01/12/2008
Summary: High oil and gas prices and improving regulatory support for solar power are driving solar photovoltaic (PV) cell market. Other drivers include increasing popularity of “green” energy, rising electricity costs and emergence of more efficient solar PV technologies.
Currently, the major challenge for the solar PV market is adequate procurement of solar grade silicon. The planned capacity increase in polysilicon production in the coming years is expected to drive solar PV cells output capacity higher. Therefore, the outlook of solar PV market in the next few years largely depends on availability and pricing of polysilicon.
Germany, Spain, Japan and the US dominate the worldwide solar PV market with more than 85% of cumulative installed PV capacity. A key reason for high growth in these countries is the active role adopted by their governments in providing subsidies to the solar industry. However, growth in Japan has been hindered due to scaling down of subsidies program.
Crystalline Silicon technology has uptill now dominated the solar PV market, with about ninety percent market share. Thin-film technology is a less efficient, lower cost, alternative to crystalline silicon. Thin-films are usually used for large PV plants, in large commercial or industrial buildings.
There are fewer companies involved as we move up in the solar PV value chain. Germany’s Q-Cells was the world′s largest producer of solar cells in 2007, followed by Japan’s Sharp Corporation, Chinese manufacturer Suntech Power and Japan’s Kyocera Corporation. The top ten companies have a market share of more than fifty percent of the worldwide solar PV cell market.
The report analyzes the global solar photovoltaic cell market, with focus on production, capacity and expansion plans. It also discusses the regional markets, pricing trend, emergence of thin film technology and market forecast. Apart from a discussion of the competitive landscape, the report profiles the major solar cell producers with a discussion of their key business strategies.