DALLAS — According to a new report, “Solar Power Market by PV, CSP Technologies by Installations, Price, Cost, Trade Trends & Global Forecasts (2011-2016),” published by MarketsandMarkets, the global solar energy market is forecasted to grow from around $39.6 billion in 2011 to $75.2 billion in 2016 with a compound annual growth rate of 13.7 percent during that period.

Increasing environmental concerns such as greenhouse gas emissions, growing energy consumption especially from emerging countries, increasing investment in renewable energy, and the low operating and maintenance cost of solar power put the world at cumulatively 40.7 GW of solar photovoltaic and concentrated thermal power installed capacity at the end of 2010. In 2010, the estimated market size for photovoltaic and concentrated solar thermal technologies was $36.6 billion.

North America is the fastest growing market and is expected to grow by a compound annual growth rate of 30.7 percent in annual installations during 2011-2016. By 2016, the solar energy market in North America is forecasted to be at 5.1 GW of annual installations with an estimated market size of $14.8 billion. The growth of North America is led by the United States, where both solar photovoltaic and concentrated solar thermal technologies are getting investments.

Asia-Pacific is the second fastest growing market, only after North America, which is expected to grow by a compound annual growth rate of 20.5 percent in annual installations during 2011-2016. The region’s growth will be pushed by increasing installations in China.