Government Incentives for Solar Power Generation Are Crucial

By 2017 the solar cells and modules market will achieve a value of nearly $90 billion, according to a new report available from companiesandmarkets.com. Growth is attributed to the global requirement for more power, and increased interest in solar powered technologies as an alternative to traditional fossil fuels – not least because of their ever-increasing costs.

The exponential increase in global energy demand represents a distinct opportunity for the solar cell and module market, given the shortage of traditional energy resources and rising environmental concern.

Solar energy is proving an attractive option for a number of reasons. Compared with other renewable energy sources (e.g., wind, tidal) solar power generation does not require massive installations to produce energy. Sunlight is also in plentiful supply and is more consistent in terms of availability, while solar cells and modules can be easily deployed to supply isolated regions or where accessibility is restricted.

Although Europe is currently the largest market for solar cells and modules, the region expecting to see most rapid growth is Asia-Pacific, which is anticipating growth in solar power related revenues to grow by up to 27% p/a over the reporting period.

Europe’s dominance in the solar cell market in attributed to the government backing of the technology, which includes feed-in tariffs and subsidies. France, Germany and Italy still enjoy strong support, although the Spanish debt crisis forced the country’s government to limit financial backing. There is concern over the longevity of governmental support, which may restrain demand for solar cells and modules.

The 533 page, August 2011 publication presents a comprehensive overview of the solar cells and modules market, including historical and forecast statistical data spanning the period 1990-2017. The industry is examined at length, with discussion of the competitive landscape, industry participants and their products/technologies, market barriers/drivers, trends, prospects, end users, legislation and regulatory matters, amongst many other influencing factors.

www.companiesandmarkets.com/Market-Report/solar-cells-and-modules-a-global-strategic-business-report-687326.asp?prk=7c4ed5b510c1ffe12b50d9829eddaba2