Page 456 - A Comprehensive Guide to Solar Energy Systems

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Global Growth Trends and the

Future of Solar Power: Leading

Countries, Segments, and Their

Prospects

James Watson, Kristina Thoring, Alyssa Pek

SOLARPOWER EUROPE, BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
j.watson@solarpowereurope.org

24.1 Introduction

Solar photovoltaic (PV) (from here on called solar) power has seen enormous growth
across the globe in the past decade. In 2005, solar power deployment was limited to a
global total of around 5 GWs; whereas today, just some 12 years later, the global total, from
Chile to China, is 306.5 GW [1]. The story of this phenomenal growth can be attributed to
two main factors. First, the drive for clean energy, built on regulatory frameworks that were
designed to support early adopters across the world, though ostensibly in Europe. Second,
this was supplemented by a fall in the cost of solar systems of around 75%, in less than
10 years, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency [2].
The past 10 years have been revolutionary in terms of solar deployment, but the future
is even brighter with forecasts from SolarPower Europe predicting that there could be
almost 1 TW of solar power production installed globally by 2021 [1]. Again, this is due to
political and economic factors that are combining to offer solar power to a wide spectrum
of the global population, thus cementing its place in the modern power generation arena.
This chapter examines the growth of solar power across regions and countries, from the
early 2000s until the current period. It will identify the countries that initially developed
solar power, and those countries where solar power is a growing industry. We will also
assess the likely future path of solar power in the coming years and offer some predictions
as to how and where solar will grow. This will entail an analysis of the drivers of deploy
ment in the past, present, and future. Finally, the chapter will also examine the breakdown
of the types of deployment by segment, offering views on their future development.

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