The International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA PVPS) estimates that 173.5 GW of new solar capacity was installed in 2021, and that figure might rise to 260 GW in 2022. pv magazine spoke with the co-chair of the European Solar Manufacturing Council to look into the figures.
The IEA PVPS recently published its latest report on “Trends in Photovoltaic Applications 2022.” It estimates, “with a reasonable firm level of certainty,” that the world installed a minimum of 173.5 GW of new solar capacity in 2021, representing a 22% year-on-year growth. That makes 2021 another record-breaking year, despite the pandemic-related perturbations.
“The markets reached incredible numbers last year, but they will probably be even higher this year,” Gaëtan Masson, co-author of the report and co-chair at the European Solar Manufacturing Council, told pv magazine. “Without trade disruptions as we’ve seen in the last two years, my bet is that the market will reach 260 GW.”
He said this prediction is “roughly on line” with the predictions of an undisclosed company.
“Looking at production numbers , we had 153 GW of wafers produced in the first six months of the year, so it is not totally impossible to see a market of around 250 GW to 260 GW,” he added.
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