A new report from market forecasting firm NPD Solarbuzz shows nations in the Asia Pacific (APAC) leading a resurgent solar industry in 2013, with the region accounting for 40 percent of global demand for photovoltaic materials.
Overall, demand for solar in APAC countries will exceed 16 gigawatts. China and Japan will drive the most growth, with an expected record nine gigawatts of PV shipments in the second half of 2013 – an increase of 100 percent compared to 1H’13 and 70 percent compared to 2H’12.
According to the report, “Asia Pacific Major PV Markets Quarterly”, these latest findings could mark a turning point for the global solar sector.
“The record level of PV shipments to China and Japan coincides with corporate margins returning to positive territory and the final shakeout phase of uncompetitive manufacturers nearing completion,” said Finlay Colville, vice president at NPD Solarbuzz.
“Having entered 2013 with a highly cautious outlook, tier-one suppliers are poised to exit the year with restored confidence, ahead of optimistic shipment and margin guidance for 2014.”
In China, government assistance schemes encouraging distributed electricity meant rooftop solar power systems overtook ground-mount systems in 2H’13; but as financing bottlenecks are resolved, it is expected major utilities will once again turn their attention to rolling out large-scale solar farms.
Japan’s nuclear scale-back and generous solar feed in tariff saw its PV market grow by 150 percent compared to the same time last year. In 2H’13, market demand for commercial and utility-scale solar installations will exceed residential systems; which in 2012 accounted for 75 percent of market share.
Demand from other APAC nations, including Australia and India, has suffered due to doubts over government policy. The Solarbuzz report states that in Australia, forthcoming elections along with market uncertainty over the future of the carbon tax and the Renewable Energy Target has hindered the growth of uptake of solar panels.
