The Asia Pacific region installed 2.8GW of PV in the final quarter of last year and looks set to grow an additional 40% in 2012. Unfortunately, Australia’s outlook for solar panel installs isn’t so positive.
According to NPD SolarBuzz, 6GW of PV was installed in the Asia Pacific in 2011, representing 165% growth year-on-year.
The region was led by China; which grew by a massive 500% thanks in part to the nation rolling out a national solar feed in tariff. According to Ray Lian, an analyst at NPD SolarBuzz, the growth could be somewhat tempered this year as the Chinese central government takes action to control the growth rate.
Japan was the second largest regional PV market in the Asia Pacific in 2011, growing by 30% and reaching 1.2 GW of PV installations. SolarBuzz says Japan is poised to grow an additional 40% in 2012.
India was next in line, with installations surging 125% in the final quarter of last year due to a race to meet install deadlines. SolarBuzz says the first quarter of this year could result in more than 600 MW of solar panels connected to the grid under the National Solar Mission and Gujarat Solar Policies, which would see the nation approaching the 1 GW mark.
Australia was the fourth largest PV market in 2011, but the outlook for 2012 isn’t so rosy. SolarBuzz states Australia’s PV installations fell 10% in the final quarter of 2011 compared to the same quarter in 2010 and predicts installations for the first quarter of this year will drop an additional 20%.
For the full year, PV installations in Australia are forecast to fall by 30%, due to the slashing of solar rebates and other incentives. In June 2012, Australia’s Solar Credits rebate, which can reduce the price of a solar power system by thousands, will drop by 33%.
NPD SolarBuzz foresees Australia’s PV market picking up in 2013 as large-scale ground-mounted systems begin to come online.
Other emerging markets in Asia accounted for an additional 500 MW of demand in 2011, with the biggest contributors being Thailand, Korea and Taiwan. This figure is expected to increase by more than 50% in 2012, along with new markets emerging in Malaysia and the Philippines.
NPD SolarBuzz’s latest Asia Pacific Major PV Markets Quarterly report is a detailed analysis of regional trends, major country market analysis and developments in smaller country markets.
