Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic (PV) Market to Reach $163 Billion by 2022, Globally-Allied Market Research

A new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “Crystalline Silicon (c-Si) PV Market by Type, and End User-Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2014-2022”, projects that the world crystalline silicon (c-Si) PV market would reach $163 billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 11.3% from 2016 to 2022. In 2014, Asia-Pacific dominated the world crystalline silicon PV market and commanded more than 45% share of the overall market revenue, followed by Europe and North America. The Asia-Pacific c-Si PV market growth is mainly driven by factors such as increased government incentives & tariffs, and rising PV installation activities primarily in residential sector.

Crystalline silicon is the foremost semiconducting material widely used in photovoltaic technology. Presently, rise in demand for greater efficiency and increased application of crystalline silicon in photovoltaic (PV) technology as it is more space efficient and cost-effective compared to thin film semiconducting material are some of the major factors that drive the market growth. Moreover, rise in electricity consumption coupled with increase in government expenditure in photovoltaic technology worldwide are expected to provide huge impetus to the market growth. However, high initial investment and fragility are the limitations that restrict the market growth.

The utility-scale segment accounted for about 39% of the overall c-Si PV market in 2014. Highest installation capacity of crystalline silicon PV in utility-scale enabled this sector to dominate the overall solar PV market. However, residential sector would be the fastest growing market and is expected to register a CAGR of 12.7% during the forecast period. This is due to the increase in installation of residential PV systems worldwide as these systems are capable to provide enough AC electricity to power a single home. Moreover, Asia-Pacific is the major contributor in residential sector with a significant revenue contribution.

Asia-Pacific accounted for the majority of revenue in 2014 and is expected to maintain its dominance throughout the forecast period. This is attributed to the increased installation capacity, increased government initiatives, and increase in population that in turn increases the electricity demand. Moreover, improvement in renewable energy expenditure further boosts the installation of residential solar PV in Asian countries, particularly in China, Japan, and India.

“Crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) represents almost 90-93% of the total solar PV cells market owing to its greater efficiency and durability, hence receiving attention from world’s prominent solar cell manufactures. In addition, substantial growth in government spending, rise in electricity prices and customer shift towards natural energy sources to get better cost-efficiency would promote its demand across utility, residential, and commercial sectors. Positive response for installation of solar PV have witnessed momentum in the past few years, largely driven by favorable environmental policies intended to meet burgeoning country’s energy demands from natural cleaner sources and this trend is expected to continue in future as well,” states Preeti Bisht, Sr. Research Associate, ICT Research at AMR.

However, Asia-Pacific is projected to be the fastest growing region throughout the analysis period, where major demand is from China, being dominant in the region especially in utility sector power plant PV installation. This is a result of government incentives and tariffs on free grid connectivity for small and medium-size distributed PV solar power producers. Moreover, improvement in solar plant installation capacity and increase in expenditures in the emerging markets (such as India and Japan) to satisfy the unpredictable electricity needs in these countries have bolstered the market growth. Technological advancements for cost-effective PV technologies in these nations offer a lucrative opportunity for the crystalline silicon PV market growth.

Key findings of the study:

• In 2014, multi-crystalline type led the overall crystalline silicon PV market revenue, and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 8.7% during the forecast period.
• Residential segment is expected to grow at a notable growth, owing to the increased solar PV installation worldwide to satisfy unpredictable household electricity demand.
• Presently Asia -pacific leads the world crystalline silicon PV market and it is expected to continue this trend throughout the forecast period owing to the swift rise in electricity demand from several countries including China, Japan and India
• China is the major shareholder accounting for about half of the market share in overall Asia-Pacific crystalline silicon PV market.

Source:PRN