BOULDER, Colo. — Despite waning government support, the threat of international trade wars, and high-profile bankruptcies, the solar photovoltaic (PV) market continues to grow, according to a report from Navigant Research. The firm forecasts that annual installations of new solar PV capacity will more than double, in terms of capacity, by 2020, growing from 35.9 gigawatts (GW) in 2013 to 73.4 GW in 2020.

Solar PV costs have steadily declined and further cost reductions are being pursued. By the end of this decade, solar PV is expected to be cost competitive — even without subsidies — with retail electricity prices in a significant portion of the world.

“Lower prices for solar PV modules are opening up new markets for distributed PV, while also helping the technology reach grid parity more quickly in high-cost retail electricity markets,” said Dexter Gauntlett, senior research analyst with Navigant Research. “The Asia Pacific region is expected to be the leading regional market for solar PV installations throughout the forecast period, led by China, where more than 100 GW of solar PV will be deployed by 2020.”

As the industry matures, the market will evolve in several ways, says the report. While installation types vary by region, there is a general shift expected toward non-distributed solar PV systems as a larger percentage of all solar PV installed capacity. Distributed systems will account for less than half of all installations in 2014, and non-distributed systems will represent more than half of the market through 2020.

An executive summary of the report is available here.

Publication date: 11/25/2013

Want more HVAC industry news and information? Join The NEWS on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn today!