China Set to Overtake Germany as the World’s Largest Consumer of PV Power

A new report written by NPD Solarbuzz has predicted that China will overtake Germany to become the largest consumer of photovoltaic power in the world this year.

It states that the top ten countries will still account for around 83% of installed PV capacity, but that for the first time ever Germany will not be the market leader. This is because rising demand from China has coincided perfectly with the decreasing demand in Europe.

A reduction to the incentive programs that ran in previous years throughout the EU have led to a significant drop in PV demand, as much as a 12GW decline according to the report. This contrasts with new policies in the Asia-Pacific region which will cause a 50% increase in demand from the likes of China, Japan, and India.

Related article: Study Finds Libya has More Solar Resources than Oil

Michael Barker, a senior analysts at Solarbuzz, said that “the Chinese end-market will largely compensate for the downturn in demand from Germany, which previously led P.V. demand.”

The report also mentioned that whilst emerging nations will account for less than 8% of global demand this year, that share is expected to double over the next four years, driven by developments in South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Israel, and Mexico.

By. Charles Kennedy of Oilprice.com