The global solar market is well on its way to breaking through the milestone of 60 GW of new capacity installed in a year during 2016, according to SolarPower Europe.
In its Global Market Outlook for Solar Power 2016-2020, SolarPower Europe lauded the 50.6 GW of new solar capacity which was added worldwide in 2015, while predicting that it would smash through the 60 GW mark in 2016. Specifically, according to SolarPower Europe, the global solar market increased by over 25% in 2015, with emerging markets in Asia and America now driving the global growth of solar. Nevertheless, the top three markets in 2015 remained China, Japan, and the US, just like 2014, with China and Japan alone responsible for over 50% of global PV capacity additions in 2015.
Looking forward, SolarPower Europe presents three scenarios — a low, medium, and high. For 2016, the Low Scenario would see 47.1 GW of new solar installed, which is less than in 2015, 62 GW for its Medium Scenario, and 76.7 GW for its High Scenario.
Global Annual Solar PV Market Scenarios Until 2020
Looking out further, SolarPower Europe predicts that 2017 will experience a “somewhat more moderate growth rate” in its Medium Scenario, with yearly increases less than what we have seen, but nevertheless driving towards an impressive figure in 2020. The association’s Global Market Outlook 2015-2019 predicted a Low Scenario of 396 GW by 2019, a High Scenario of 540 GW, with a most likely/Medium Scenario of 450 GW. However, this has increased given a year’s developments in the solar industry, with SolarPower Europe expecting 427 GW and 596 GW, and 516 GW.
Stepping forward a year, 2020 is expected to see a Low Scenario of 490 GW, a High Scenario of 716 GW, and a Medium Scenario of 613 GW. As the authors of the report note, however, regardless of what happens, “2 milestones will be reached in all scenarios — 300 GW solar power in 2017, and around 500 GW by 2020.”
Global Total Solar PV Market Scenarios Until 2020
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