International Solar PV Nearly Doubled, PV Growth Doubled in 2010

Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!

The European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) has reported that solar photovoltaic (PV) power increased by 16 GW in 2010 around the world, approximately double the increase seen in 2009.

Despite the continued financial crisis, falling solar prices around the world, good government subsidies (particularly in Germany and Italy), and an interest in addressing accelerated climate change helped to make 2010 such a successful year for the solar photovoltaic industry.

Cumulative solar capacity is now at 40 GW, 70% higher than the 23 GW it was at at the end of 2009.

Europe, alone, added about 13 GW of new solar power installations in 2010. Clearly, leading the world. Feed-in tariff programs in Germany and Italy, where nearly 7 GW and approximately 3 GW were added, respectively, were a major driver of 2010’s growth.

“Solar PV is continuing to develop in countries that put a feed-in tariff in place,” said EPIA economist Gaetan Masson.

Other than Germany and Italy, other countries with significant solar power growth were:

  • the Czech Republic (1.3 GW)
  • Japan (1 GW)
  • United States (0.8 GW)
  • France (0.5 GW)
  • China (0.4 GW)
  • Spain (0.4)
  • Belgium (0.25)
  • Greece (0.2)

“Solar panel prices have halved since 2007, say analysts, at about $1.8 per watt at the end of 2010 compared with $3.7 three years earlier,” Reuters reports.

Solar Power Growth in the U.S.

I reported back in October that solar power is expected to continue growing rapidly in the U.S. in the coming years. 2010 was the best year ever for the U.S. and the solar industry is the fastest-growing energy industry in the U.S., with a ton of support from the public for stronger federal and local policies supporting it. However, as we’ve had to cover too many times on Cleantechnica, until the Republican party and a handful of wayward Democrats stop blocking progress on clean energy legislation, our solar power growth cannot compare to that of other solar power world leaders. Look at the list above: the Czech Republic had almost twice as much solar power growth as the U.S.

Related Story: Solar Energy Can Provide 4.2% of U.S. Power by 2020

Photo Credit: i-sustain


Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.

Latest CleanTechnica TV Video


Advertisement
 
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.

Zachary Shahan

Zach is tryin' to help society help itself one word at a time. He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director, chief editor, and CEO. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, and Curaçao. Zach has long-term investments in Tesla [TSLA], NIO [NIO], Xpeng [XPEV], Ford [F], ChargePoint [CHPT], Amazon [AMZN], Piedmont Lithium [PLL], Lithium Americas [LAC], Albemarle Corporation [ALB], Nouveau Monde Graphite [NMGRF], Talon Metals [TLOFF], Arclight Clean Transition Corp [ACTC], and Starbucks [SBUX]. But he does not offer (explicitly or implicitly) investment advice of any sort.

Zachary Shahan has 7324 posts and counting. See all posts by Zachary Shahan