Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF, New York, New York, U.S.) has revealed preliminary estimates for 2011 solar photovoltaic (PV) installations, calculating that a global aggregate capacity of between 26.5 and 29.3 GW of PV was installed during the year.

BNEF notes that it has not yet released official 2011 estimates. However, its unofficial numbers contain some surprises, including an estimated 7.5 to 7.7 MW of installed PV in Italy in 2011, a greater capacity than is reported from Germany for the year.

"I think what is very difficult to reconcile is the fact that the prices were painful last year, and at the same time the market is bigger than ever before," BNEF Solar Insight Manager Jenny Chase told Solar Server.

"There are just too many modules out there. At the same time, these cheap modules caused amazing booms in particular markets."


China jumps to world's third-largest PV market

Chase also noted that BNEF is not entirely sure about the figure of 7.5 GW installed in Germany in 2011, which has been put forward by both the German federal grid agency and the German Solar Industry Association.

Following Italy and Germany, BNEF puts China as the world's third largest PV market in 2011 at 2.2 GW installed, a figure released by the nation's National Development and Reform Commission. This number represents a dramatic increase over the nation's 2010 PV market.

BNEF states that it is still unsure if France or the United States will take fourth place in 2011, with an estimated 1.5 to 1.7 GW installed in the United States, and 1.3 to 1.8 GW in France. Chase admits that BNEF's view of the French market is still quite cloudy, citing a lack of organization in official French data.

The company also notes that while India's MNRE has stated that 180 MW was connected to the grid in 2011, it believes that between 200 and 375 MW were installed in the nation by the end of the year, citing delays between installation and commissioning.


Emergence of multiple small PV markets in 2012

For 2012, BNEF states that it is not looking at high performance in large PV markets, but instead expecting the emergence of number of markets in the 100 to 200 MW size.
 

2012-01-19| Courtesy: Solarserver.com; Image Source: First Solar | solarserver.com © Heindl Server GmbH

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