Task 1 Strategic PV Analysis and Outreach

PVPS

TRENDS IN
PHOTOVOLTAIC
APPLICATIONS
2020

Report IEA-PVPS T1-38:2020

WHAT IS IEA PVPS TCP?

The International Energy Agency (IEA), founded in 1974, is an ‘Tasks,’ that may be research projects or activity areas. This
autonomous body within the framework of the Organization for report has been prepared under Task 1, which deals with market
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The and industry analysis, strategic research and facilitates the
Technology Collaboration Programme (TCP) was created with a exchange and dissemination of information arising from the
belief that the future of energy security and sustainability starts overall IEA PVPS Programme.
with global collaboration. The programme is made up of
The IEA PVPS participating countries are Australia, Austria,
thousands of experts across government, academia, and
Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, Finland, France,
industry dedicated to advancing common research and the
Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco,
application of specific energy technologies.
the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden,
The IEA Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA PVPS) is Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, and the United States of America.
one of the TCP’s within the IEA and was established in 1993. The The European Commission, Solar Power Europe, the Smart
mission of the programme is to “enhance the international Electric Power Alliance (SEPA), the Solar Energy Industries
collaborative efforts which facilitate the role of photovoltaic solar Association and the Copper Alliance are also members.
energy as a cornerstone in the transition to sustainable energy
systems.” In order to achieve this, the Programme’s participants Visit us at: www.iea-pvps.org
have undertaken a variety of joint research projects in PV power
systems applications. The overall programme is headed by an
Executive Committee, comprised of one delegate from each
country or organisation member, which designates distinct

AUTHORS
Main Authors: G. Masson and I. Kaizuka.
Analysis: I. Kaizuka (RTS Corporation), E. Bosch, A. Detollenaere, G. Neubourg, G. Masson, J. Van Wetter (Becquerel Institute),
Johan Lindahl (Becquerel Institute Sweden).
Data: IEA PVPS Reporting Countries, Becquerel Institute (BE), RTS Corporation (JP) and A. Jaeger-Waldau (EU-JRC).
For the non-IEA PVPS countries: BSW, UNEF.
Editor: G. Masson, IEA PVPS Task 1 Operating Agent.
Design: Onehemisphere, Sweden.

DISCLAIMER
The IEA PVPS TCP is organised under the auspices of the International Energy Agency (IEA) but is functionally and legally
autonomous. Views, findings and publications of the IEA PVPS TCP do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the IEA
Secretariat or its individual member countries. Data for non-IEA PVPS countries are provided by official contacts or experts in the
relevant countries. Data are valid at the date of publication and should be considered as estimates in several countries due to the
publication date.

COVER IMAGE
AgriPV trial installation in France. © Sun’Agri
ISBN 978-3-907281-01-7: Trends in Photovoltaic Applications 2020.
IEA PVPS TRENDS 2020 IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS

REPORT SCOPE
AND OBJECTIVES

The Trends report’s objective is to present and interpret results of the 25th international survey. It provides an overview of
developments in the PV power systems market and the PV power systems applications, markets and production in the
evolving applications for these products within this market. reporting countries and elsewhere at the end of 2019 and
These trends are analysed in the context of the business, policy analyses trends in the implementation of PV power systems
and nontechnical environment in the reporting countries. between 1992 and 2019. Key data for this publication were drawn
mostly from national survey reports and information summaries,
This report is prepared to assist those who are responsible for
which were supplied by representatives from each of the
developing the strategies of businesses and public authorities, and
reporting countries. Information from the countries outside IEA
to support the development of medium-term plans for electricity
PVPS are drawn from a variety of sources and, while every
utilities and other providers of energy services. It also provides
attempt is made to ensure their accuracy, the validity of some of
guidance to government officials responsible for setting energy
these data cannot be assured with the same level of confidence as
policy and preparing national energy plans. The scope of the
for IEA PVPS member countries.
report is limited to PV applications with a rated power of 40 W or
more. National data supplied are as accurate as possible at the
time of publication. Data accuracy on production levels and
system prices varies, depending on the willingness of the relevant
national PV industry to provide data. This report presents the

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This report has been prepared under the supervision by Task 1 participants. A special thanks to all of them. The report authors also
gratefully acknowledge special support of Mary Brunisholz, IEA PVPS and NET Ltd.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 3

IEA PVPS TRENDS 2020 IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS

FOREWORD

On behalf of the IEA PVPS Technology Collaboration On the cost side, further record PPAs have been announced for
Programme, I am pleased to present the 25th edition of the large scale PV systems at below 1,4 USDcents per kWh,
International Survey Report on Trends in Photovoltaic (PV) confirming the increasing competitiveness that PV can reach
Applications 2020. under the best conditions. In spite of these very competitive
prices in a favourable market environment, the regulatory
“Solar is the new king of the electricity markets,” was one of the
framework and its further evolution towards market mechanisms
first key statements of the IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol when
remain significantly important for the further development of
launching the most recent IEA World Energy Outlook in October
worldwide PV markets.
2020, acknowledging that solar PV electricity is becoming the
cheapest source of new electricity in many countries around the As in recent years, utility-scale PV systems have dominated the
world and will therefore continue to grow strongly over the PV market in 2019; however, distributed PV systems, namely on
decades to come. commercial and industrial premises, are becoming more important
in many countries, due to their favourable economics; in particular
The IEA PVPS Task 1 expert group “Strategic PV Analysis and
when combined with increased self-consumption and battery
Outreach” carefully prepared this report, tracking the most recent
storage. New market segments are emerging such as floating PV
developments in PV markets and industry around the world. With
or agri-PV, the combination of PV with agriculture. Off-grid PV,
a particular focus on IEA PVPS members, the report aims to
while small in absolute terms of installed capacity, continues to
provide a detailed picture of the worldwide and country-specific
grow in large numbers in various countries in Asia and Africa.
photovoltaic market trends, the various drivers and policies, the
status of the industry and discusses the increasing role of PV in As PV markets grow and will continue to do so in the coming
the energy system. This year’s report covers the market and years, other benefits than purely electricity services emerge
industry development up to 2019 and highlights some more including economic, climate change and broader energy system
recently observed trends. related benefits, including – in the longer term – for power-to-x
(e.g. heat, fuel). First significant benefits can be quantified, such as
112 GW of PV power systems have been installed globally in 2019
the avoided CO2 emissions.
(2018: 103 GW), bringing the total installed capacity to over
623 GW (2018: 512 GW). We observe a confirmation of the strong As the world economy and in particular energy markets are going
role of PV deployment in Asia. In spite of a further reduction in through difficult times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, positive
China’s PV market (from 44,3 GW in 2018 to 30,1 GW in 2019), signs also emerge. PV is becoming more competitive, more
this country maintained its leadership, both in annual as well as versatile and more robust, emerging as a key technology of the
total installed capacity. For 2019, China’s annual installed PV ongoing energy transition!
capacity is followed by the United States (13.3 GW), India
These are just a few highlights of the wealth of information that
(10,1 GW), Japan (7,0 GW) and Vietnam (4,8 GW). Eighteen
this 25th edition of the IEA PVPS Trends report hopes to provide
countries installed more than 1 GW in 2019 and 40 countries
to you!
reached a cumulative capacity of 1 GW and more. The countries
with the ten largest annually installed PV capacities account for
about 76% of the total annual installed capacity of 112 GW (down
from 87% of 103 GW installed in 2018). The number of countries
that are entering the PV market with significant market
developments is thus clearly increasing, which is an encouraging
sign and one which makes the global PV market more robust.

Stefan Nowak
Chairman
IEA PVPS Programme

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 4

IEA PVPS TRENDS 2020 IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD 5

1. INTRODUCTION TO THE CONCEPTS AND METHODOLOGY 7

PV TECHNOLOGY 7
PV APPLICATIONS AND MARKET SEGMENTS 8
METHODOLOGY FOR THE MAIN PV MARKET DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS 9
2. PV MARKET DEVELOPMENT TRENDS 10
THE GLOBAL PV INSTALLED CAPACITY 10
PV MARKET SEGMENTS 15
EMERGING PV MARKET SEGMENTS 17
PV AND THE STORAGE MARKET DEVELOPMENT 18
PV PER SEGMENT 19
PV DEVELOPMENT PER REGION 20
THE AMERICAS 20
ASIA-PACIFIC 21
EUROPE 23
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA 25
3. POLICY FRAMEWORK 27
PV MARKET DRIVERS 28
THE SUPPORT SCHEMES 29
COST OF SUPPORT SCHEMES 33
SOFT COSTS 34
INNOVATIVE BUSINESS MODELS 34
GRID INTEGRATION 34
SUSTAINABLE BUILDING REQUIREMENTS & BIPV 35
ELECTRICITY STORAGE 36
4. TRENDS IN THE PV INDUSTRY 38
THE UPSTREAM PV SECTOR 38
DOWNSTREAM SECTOR 47
TRADE CONFLICTS 49
5. SOCIETAL IMPLICATIONS OF PV 51
VALUE FOR THE ECONOMY 51
EMPLOYMENT IN PV 53
PV FOR SOCIAL POLICIES 54
CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION 55
6. COMPETITIVENESS OF PV ELECTRICITY IN 2019 56
MODULE PRICES 56
SYSTEM PRICES 59
COST OF PV ELECTRICITY 64
7. PV IN THE ENERGY SECTOR 68
PV ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION 68
PV PENETRATION 69
PV INTEGRATION AND SECTOR COUPLING 71
ELECTRIC UTILITIES INVOLVEMENT IN PV 73
8. LATEST TRENDS AND RESEARCH DEVELOPMENTS IN THE IEA PVPS TASKS 76
TASK 12: STATUS OF C-SI PV RECYCLING IN SELECT WORLD REGIONS 76
TASK 13: CALCULATION OF PERFORMANCE LOSS RATES:
DATA QUALITY, BENCHMARKS AND TRENDS 77
TASK 14: SOLAR PV IN A FUTURE 100% RES BASED POWER SYSTEM 78
TASK 15: ENABLING FRAMEWORK FOR THE ACCELERATION OF BIPV 78
TASK 16: STATE OF THE ART FOR SOLAR RESOURCE ASSESSMENTS AND FORECASTS 79
TASK 17: PV FOR TRANSPORT 80

CONCLUSION 81
ANNEXES 83
LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES 86

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 5

 TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS // 2020
PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER SYSTEMS PROGRAMME WWW.IEA-PVPS.ORG

TOTAL BUSINESS VALUE IN PV SECTOR IN 2019

$135 BILLION TOP

PV MARKETS IN 2019
5 CHINA
EU
USA
INDIA
JAPAN
30,1
15,9
13,3
10,1
7,0
GW
GW
GW
GW
GW

PV CONTRIBUTION TO OTHER ANNUAL

ELECTRICITY DEMAND
INSTALLED CAPACITY
IN 2019 (GW) 112 GW

3,3 %
Share of PV in the
GLOBAL PV
CAPACITY
623 GW

global electricitiy
demand in 2019 END OF 2019 512 GW GLOBAL PV CAPACITY
END OF 2019 (GW)

YEARLY PV INSTALLATION, PV PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTION CAPACITY 2008 - 2019

CLIMATE CHANGE 250

IMPACTS 200

700millions of tons of CO2

GW
150

100
saving every year,
50

0
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

PV installations Total production Total production capacity

PV PENETRATION PER CAPITA IN 2019

PV penetration
(W/capita)
>600 W

1W

40 COUNTRIES PV POWER PER CAPITA 18 COUNTRIES

HAD REACHED AT LEAST INSTALLED AT LEAST
1. AUSTRALIA (644 Wp)

1 GWp
IN 2019
2. GERMANY (589 Wp)
3. JAPAN (500 Wp) 1 GWp
IN 2019
SOURCE IEA PVPS AND OTHERS

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 6

 one
INTRODUCTION TO THE
CONCEPTS AND METHODOLOGY

PV TECHNOLOGY

Photovoltaic (PV) devices convert light directly into electricity years, over 85% of the c-Si share. Multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si)
and should not be confused with other solar technologies such cells, also called polycrystalline, are formed with multicrystalline
as concentrated solar power (CSP) or solar thermal for heating wafers, manufactured from a cast solidification process. They are
and cooling. The key components of a PV power system are still in production due to their lower production prices.
various types of photovoltaic cells (often called solar cells) Nevertheless, they are less efficient, with average conversion
interconnected and encapsulated to form a photovoltaic efficiency around 18%-20% in mass production (single-junction).
module (the commercial product), the mounting structure for
Thin-film cells are formed by depositing extremely thin layers of
the module or array, the inverter (essential for grid-connected
photovoltaic semiconductor materials onto a backing material
systems and required for most off-grid systems), the storage
such as glass, stainless steel or plastic. III-V compound
battery and charge controller (for off-grid systems but also
semiconductor PV cells are formed using materials such as
increasingly for grid-connected ones).
Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) on Germanium (Ge) substrates and have
high conversion efficiencies from 25% up to 30% (not
CELLS, MODULES AND SYSTEMS concentrated). Due to their high cost, they are typically used in
concentrated PV (CPV) systems with tracking systems or for
Photovoltaic cells represent the smallest unit in a photovoltaic
space applications. Thin-film modules used to have lower
power producing device. Wafer sizes, and thus cell sizes have
conversion efficiencies than basic crystalline silicon technologies,
progressively increased, as it is commonly considered by
but this has changed in recent years. They are potentially less
industrial actors as an easy way to improve cell and modules
expensive to manufacture than crystalline cells thanks to the
wattage. Nowadays, wafer sizes range from 156,75 x 156,75
reduced number of manufacturing steps from raw materials to
square mm (named M2) up to 210 x 210 square mm (named
modules, and to reduced energy demand. Thin-film materials
M12). To this date, there is no standard in the wafer size.
commercially used are cadmium telluride (CdTe), and copper-
Nevertheless, M10 wafers (182 x 182 square mm) have gained a
indium-(gallium)-diselenide (CIGS and CIS). Amorphous (a-Si) and
lot of traction in the last years. In general, cells can be classified as
micromorph silicon (μ-Si) used to have a significant market share
either wafer-based crystalline silicon c-Si (mono- and multi-
but failed to follow both the price of crystalline silicon cells and the
crystalline), compound semiconductor (thin-film), or organic.
efficiency increase of other thin film technologies.
Currently, c-Si technologies account for more than 95% of the
Organic thin-film PV (OPV) cells use dye or organic
overall cell production. Monocrystalline PV cells, formed with
semiconductors as the light-harvesting active layer. This
wafers manufactured using a single crystal growth method,
technology has created increasing interest and research over the
feature commercial efficiencies between 20% and 24% (single-
last few years and is currently the fastest-advancing solar
junction). They have gained the biggest market share in recent
technology. Despite the low production costs, stable products are

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 7

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE CONCEPTS AND METHODOLOGY

PV TECHNOLOGY / CONTINUED

not yet available for the market, nevertheless development and Bifacial PV modules are collecting light on both sides of the panel.
demonstration activities are underway. Tandem cells based on When mounted on a surface which albedo reflects enough light, the
perovskites are researched as well, with either a crystalline silicon energy production increase is estimated to a maximum of 15% with
base or a thin film base and could hit the market sooner than pure structure, and possibly up to 30-35% with a single-axis system.
perovskites products. In 2019, perovskite solar cell achieved Bifacial modules have a growing competitive advantage despite
28.0% efficiencies in silicon-based tandem and 23.26% efficiencies higher overall installation costs. Indeed, recent competitive projects
in CIGS-based tandems. in desert areas boosted the market confidence in bifacial PV
performance and production lines are increasingly moving towards
Photovoltaic modules are typically rated from 290 W to 500 W,
bifacial modules. The additional factors affecting bifacial
depending on the technology and the size. Specialized products
performance into their models are also better understood and
for building integrated PV systems (BIPV) exist, with higher
integrated in the downstream industry. The global capacity installed
nominal power due to their larger sizes. Crystalline silicon
is estimated at 5,4 GW at the end of 2019 and is expected to take
modules consist of individual PV cells connected and
growing market shares in the coming years.
encapsulated between a transparent front, usually glass, and a
backing material, usually plastic or glass. Thin-film modules PV thermal hybrid solar installations (PVT) combine a solar
encapsulate PV cells formed into a single substrate, in a flexible or module with a solar thermal collector, thereby converting sunlight
fixed module, with transparent plastic or glass as the front into electricity and capturing the remaining waste heat from the
material. Their efficiency ranges between 9% (OPV), 10% (a-Si), PV module to produce hot water or feed the central heating
17% (CIGS and CIS), 19% (CdTe), 25% GaAs (non-concentrated) system. It also allows to reduce the operating temperature of the
and above 40% for some CPV modules.1 modules, which benefits the global performances of the system.
A PV system consists of one or several PV modules, connected to Floating PV systems are mounted on a structure that floats on a
either an electricity network (grid-connected PV) or to a series of water surface and can be associated with existing grid
loads (off-grid). It comprises various electric devices aiming at connections for instance in the case of dam vicinity. The
adapting the electricity output of the module(s) to the standards of development of floating PV on man-made water areas is a
the network or the load: inverters, charge controllers or batteries. solution to land scarcity in high population density areas and can
be combined with hydropower.
A wide range of mounting structures has been developed
especially for BIPV; including PV facades, sloped and flat roof Agricultural PV combine crops and energy production on the
mountings, integrated (opaque or semi-transparent) glass-glass same site. The sharing of light between these two types of
modules and PV tiles. production potentially allows a higher crop yield, depending on the
climate and the selection of the crop variety and can even be
Single or two-axis tracking systems have recently become more
mutually beneficial in some cases, as the water which evaporates
and more attractive for ground-mounted systems, particularly for
from the crops can contribute to a reduction of PV modules
PV utilization in countries with a high share of direct irradiation. By
operating temperature.
using such systems, the energy yield can typically be increased by
10-20% for single axis trackers and 20-30% for double axis VIPV or vehicle integrated PV. The integration of highly efficient
trackers compared with fixed systems. solar cells into the shell of the vehicles allow for emissions
reductions in the mobility sector. The solar cell technological
developments allow to meet both aesthetic expectations for car
PV APPLICATIONS AND design and technical requirements such as lightweight and
MARKET SEGMENTS resistance to load.
Various Solar Home Sytems (SHS) or pico PV systems have
When considering distributed PV systems, it is necessary to experienced significant development in the last few years,
distinguish BAPV (building applied photovoltaics) and BIPV combining the use of efficient lights (mostly LEDs) with charge
(buildings integrated photovoltaics) systems. BAPV refers to PV controllers and batteries. With a small PV panel of only a few
systems installed on an existing building while BIPV imposes to watts, essential services can be provided, such as lighting, phone
replace conventional building materials by some which include PV charging and powering a radio or a small computer. Expandable
cells. Amongst BIPV solutions, PV tiles, or PV shingles, are versions of solar pico PV systems have entered the market and
typically small, rectangular solar panels that can be installed enable starting with a small kit and adding extra loads later. They
alongside conventional tiles or slates using a traditional racking are mainly used for off-grid basic electrification, mainly in
system used for this type of building product. BIPV products can developing countries.
take various shapes, colours and be manufactured using various
materials, although a vast majority use glass on both sides. They
can be assembled in way that they fill multiple functions usually
devoted to conventional building envelope solutions.

1 Source: https://www.nrel.gov/pv/module-efficiency.html

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 8

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE CONCEPTS AND METHODOLOGY

GRID-CONNECTED PV SYSTEMS battery from deep discharge or overcharging. Some charge

controllers also have integrated MPP trackers to maximize the PV
In grid-connected PV systems, an inverter is used to convert
electricity generated. If there is a requirement for AC electricity, a
electricity from direct current (DC) as produced by the PV array to
“stand-alone inverter” can supply conventional AC appliances.
alternating current (AC) that is then supplied to the electricity
network. The typical weighted conversion efficiency is in the range of Off-grid domestic systems provide electricity to households and
95% to 99%. Most inverters incorporate a Maximum Power Point villages that are not connected to the utility electricity network.
Tracker (MPPT), which continuously adjusts the load impedance to They provide electricity for lighting, refrigeration and other low
provide the maximum power from the PV array. One inverter can be power loads, have been installed worldwide and are increasingly
used for the whole array or separate inverters may be used for each the most competitive technology to meet the energy demands of
string of modules. PV modules with integrated inverters, usually off-grid communities.
referred to as “AC modules”, can be directly connected to the
Off-grid non-domestic installations were the first commercial
electricity network (where approved by network operators), they
application for terrestrial PV systems. They provide power for a
offer better partial shading management and installation flexibility.
wide range of applications, such as telecommunications, water
Similarly, micro-inverters, connected to up to four panels also exist,
pumping, vaccine refrigeration and navigational aids. These are
despite their higher initial cost, they present some advantages where
applications where small amounts of electricity have a high value,
array sizes are small and maximal performance is to be achieved.
thus making PV commercially cost competitive with other small
Hybrid systems combine the advantages of PV and diesel generating sources.
generator in mini grids. They allow mitigating fuel price increases,
deliver operating cost reductions, and offer higher service quality
than traditional single-source generation systems. The combining of
technologies provides new possibilities to provide a reliable and METHODOLOGY FOR THE MAIN PV
cost-effective power source in remote places such as for telecom MARKET DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
base stations for instance. Large-scale hybrids can be used for large
cities powered today by diesel generators and have been seen, for
This report counts all PV installations, both grid-connected and
instance in central Africa, often in combination with battery storage.
reported off-grid installations. By convention, the numbers reported
Grid-connected distributed PV systems are installed to provide refer to the nominal power of PV systems installed. These are
power to a grid-connected customer or directly to the electricity expressed in W (or Wp). Some countries are reporting the power
network, more specifically the distribution network. Such systems output of the PV inverter (device converting DC power from the PV
may be on, or integrated into, the customer’s premises often on the system into AC electricity compatible with standard electricity
demand side of the electricity meter, on residential, commercial or networks). The difference between the standard DC Power (in Wp)
industrial buildings, or simply in the built environment on motorway and the AC power can range from as little as 5% (conversion losses)
sound-barriers, etc. Size is not a determining feature – while a 1 to as much as 40% (for instance some grid regulations limit output to
MW PV system on a rooftop may be large by PV standards, this is as little as 65% of the peak power from the PV system, but also
not the case for other forms of distributed generation. higher DC/AC ratios reflect the evolution of utility-scale PV systems).
Conversion of AC data has been made when necessary, to calculate
Grid-connected centralized PV systems perform the functions of
the most precise installation numbers every year. Global data should
centralized power stations. The power supplied by such a system
be considered as indications rather than exact statistics. Data from
is physically not associated with an electricity customer, and the
countries outside of the IEA PVPS network have been obtained
system is not located to specifically perform functions on the
through different sources, some of them based on trade statistics.
electricity network other than the supply of bulk power. These
systems are typically ground-mounted and functioning As an increasing share of the global installed PV capacity is
independently of any nearby development. attaining a certain lifetime - the very first waves of installations
dating back to the nineties - performance losses and
OFF-GRID PV SYSTEMS
decommissioning must be considered to calculate the PV capacity
For off-grid systems, a storage battery is required to provide and PV production.
energy during low-light periods. Nearly all batteries used for PV
For this report, the PV penetration was estimated with the most
systems are of the deep discharge lead-acid type. Other types of
recent global data about the PV installed capacity, the average
batteries (e. g. NiCad, NiMH, Li-Ion) are also suitable and have the
theoretical PV production and the electricity demand based. In
advantage that they cannot be overcharged or deep-discharged.
general, PV penetration is amongst one of the best indicators to
The lifetime of a battery varies, depending on the operating
reflect the market dynamics in a specific country or region. If a
regime and conditions, but is typically between 5 and 10 years
global PV penetration level does not reflect the regional
even if progresses are seen in that field.
disparities, it gives an indication about the ability of the technology
A charge controller (or regulator) is used to maintain the battery to keep up with the global demand growth. Hence, regarding
at the highest possible state of charge (SOC) and provide the user climate goals for instance, the PV penetration is a better indicator
with the required quantity of electricity while protecting the than the absolute market growth.
IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 9
 two
PV MARKET DEVELOPMENT TRENDS

Since the early beginnings of the PV market development, THE GLOBAL PV

over 623,2 GW of PV plants have been installed globally, of
which almost 72% has been installed over the last five years. INSTALLED CAPACITY
Over the years, a growing number of markets started to
contribute to global PV installations, and the year 2019 closed
with a record number of new countries installing significant At the end of 2019, the global PV installed capacity represented
PV numbers. 623,2 GW of cumulative PV installations.
Presently it appears that 111,6 GW represented the minimum
capacity installed during 2019 with a reasonably firm level of certainty.
PV installation data The IEA PVPS countries represented 509,9 GW of the total
installed capacity. The IEA PVPS participating countries are
A large majority of PV installations are grid-connected and Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark,
include an inverter which converts the variable direct current Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia,
(DC) output of solar modules into alternating current (AC) to Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South
be injected into the electrical grid. PV installation data is Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, and the
reported in DC by default in this report (see also Chapter 1). United States of America.
When countries are reporting officially in AC, this report
The other key markets that have been considered and which are
converts in DC to maintain coherency. When official reporting
not part of the IEA PVPS Programme, represented a total
is in AC, announced capacities are mentioned as MWac or cumulative capacity of 113,4 GW at the end of 2019. Amongst
MWdc in this report. By default, MW implies capacities them, India covered over one third of that capacity with 42,9 GW.
mentioned in DC. The rest was mainly located in Europe and partly related to
historical installations and increasingly to emerging markets: UK
with almost 13,4 GW, Ukraine with 4,9 GW, Greece with 2,8 GW,
the Czech Republic with 2,0 GW installed, Romania with 1,4 GW,
Poland with almost 1,3 GW and Bulgaria just above the 1 GW
mark. The other major countries that accounted for the highest
cumulative installations at the end of 2019 and that are not part of
the IEA PVPS programme are: Vietnam with an estimated
4,8 GW, Brazil with 4,5 GW, and Taiwan with 4,3 GW. Numerous
countries all over the world have started to develop PV but few
have yet reached a significant development level in terms of
cumulative installed capacity outside the ones mentioned above.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 10

CHAPTER 2 PV MARKET DEVELOPMENT TRENDS

FIGURE 2.1: EVOLUTION OF CUMULATIVE PV INSTALLATIONS

700
623,2
600

511,7
500

407,4
400
GW
304,7
300
228,0

200 177
177 6
177,6
137,6
100,0
100 704
70,4 IEA PVPS countries

0
Other countries
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.

PV PENETRATION PER CAPITA Netherlands comes in at the 5th place with 396 W/cap, followed by
Italy (346 W/cap). Malta and Switzerland come next with
Figure 2.2 shows PV penetration per inhabitant at the end of 2019,
respectively 298 and 295 W/cap. Greece and Denmark are
in watts per inhabitant.
closing the top 10 with 262 and 234 W/cap.
In just a few years Australia has reached the highest installed PV
Other countries with a PV penetration above 200 W/cap are
capacity per inhabitant with 644 W/cap. Germany is second with
Luxembourg, the United States, Korea, Spain, Czech Republic
589 W/cap. Japan comes next with 500 W/cap, as it still exceeds
and Hungary.
the installed capacities per inhabitant in Belgium (425 W/cap). The

FIGURE 2.2: PV PENETRATION PER CAPITA IN 2019

PV penetration
(W/capita)
>600 W

1W

SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 11

CHAPTER 2 PV MARKET DEVELOPMENT TRENDS

THE GLOBAL PV INSTALLED CAPACITY / CONTINUED

MARKET EVOLUTION India was in fourth place with 10,1 GWdc installed, out of which a
large part was installed as utility-scale plants. The official number
The IEA PVPS countries installed at least 77,9 GW in 2019. While
has been recalculated based on official AC data using IEA PVPS
they are more difficult to track with a high level of certainty,
assumptions on AC-DC ratio. The cumulative capacity installed is
installations in non-IEA PVPS countries contributed an amount of
of 42,9 GWdc at the end of 2019.
33,7 GW. The noteworthy trend of 2019 is the growth of the global
PV market despite the Chinese market slow-down for a second The market in Japan is rather stable as the installations slightly
year in a row. As in 2018, the rise of emerging markets increased to 7,0 GW in 2019, which is not that far from the record
contributed to this market growth in 2019. level of 10,8 GW in 2015.
For the seventh year in a row, China was in first place and Together, these five leading individual or block of countries
installed more than 30,1 GW in 2019, according to China’s represented 57% of all installations recorded in 2019, a
National Energy Administration; an installation level that is considerable reduction compared to 73% in 2018. In terms of
significantly lower than the 44,3 GW and 52,9 GW newly installed cumulative installed capacity these countries represent over 70%
capacity in the country in 2018 and 2017, respectively. The total of the global capacity. This shows that the global PV market
installed capacity in China reached 205,2 GW, and by that the concentration is decreasing, with new markets contributing
country kept its market leader position in terms of total installed increasingly to global installation numbers.
capacity. The Chinese market represented 27% of the global
Heading the top 10 countries, China, the USA, India and Japan
installation in 2019, a significant decrease compared to the three
are followed by Vietnam which installed 4,8 GW in 2019 through
previous years, especially in 2017, where the market share of
its successful FIT policy which led to five times more installations
China reached 51%.
than initially planned by the government by 2020
Second was the European Union which experienced growth for
Australia that installed almost 4,8 GW in 2019, a tremendous level
the second year in a row with 15,9 GW, coming closer to the
given the country’s population. For several years the country has
23,2 GW recorded in 2011. Spain (4,7 GW), Germany (3,8 GW)
been experiencing a boom in utility-scale applications together
and the Netherlands (2,4 GW) were the key markets this year,
with a robust demand for distributed PV systems. The total
followed by France (below 1,0 GW) and several others.
installed PV capacity reached 16,3 GW at the end of 2019.
Third was United States with 13,3 GW installed, a significant
Spain regained market confidence of investors mainly through
growth compared to 2018, marking 2019 the second largest single
centralized tenders and corporate PPAs, in total almost 4,8 GWdc
year increase in installations in the U.S. Both the utility sector
have been installed in 2019, a major increase compared to the last
installations and the residential market increased over 2018
10 years. The cumulative capacity in the country nearly doubled
installation levels (with respectively 37% and 15%). At the end of
as 9,9 GWdc were operational at the end of 2019.
2019, the U.S. reached 75,9 GW of cumulative installed capacity.

FIGURE 2.3: EVOLUTION OF ANNUAL PV INSTALLATIONS

120
111,6
102,7 104,4
100

80 76,7

GW 60
Other countries
50,4
Other IEA PVPS countries

40 37,5
40,0 USA
31,1 29,6 Japan

20
India
European Union

0
China
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 12

CHAPTER 2 PV MARKET DEVELOPMENT TRENDS

Germany (ninth globally as a country) scored the second rank Other countries experienced a significant development of PV in
amongst European countries. It saw its annual installed capacity 2019, with part of them having reached the top ten in previous
grow to 3,8 GW, with a significant market development for several years such as Brazil, Mexico and the Netherlands.
years in a row. The total installed PV capacity reached 49,0 GW at
Korea installed 3,1 GW in 2019, again a major increase compared
the end of 2019.
to previous years, mostly with utility-scale plants.
In the tenth position comes Ukraine where PV installations finally
For the first time, Egypt appears in the GW-scale markets. It
advanced in 2019 after some years of slow development. In total
added 2.5 GWdc of solar PV capacity in 2019 mainly thanks to a
around 3,5 GW were installed, most of which were utility-scale
new park of utility-scale PV plants.
plants under tenders and to a lesser extent, installations in the
distributed segments through a net-metering scheme. The Netherlands follow with 2,4 GW, a record level for that small
country with scarce available land: a large part of the
Together, these 10 countries cover 75% of the 2019 annual world
development came from rooftop applications, driven by self-
market, a sign that the growth of the global PV market has been
consumption policies and tender processes.
driven by a limited number of countries again, however less than
in previous years as the remaining markets are starting to In Latin America, the market in Brazil was driven both by
contribute more significantly. Market concentration has been distributed and centralized applications: in total 2,1 GWdc were
fuelling fears for the market’s stability in the past, if one of the top installed in 2019.
three or top five markets would experience a slowdown.
However, as shown in Figure 2.4, the market concentration In the UAE, around 2 GW came online in 2019 through large-scale
steadily decreases as new markets are starting to emerge, which tenders, amongst the most competitive globally. Self-
allows a market stabilization. However, the size of the Chinese PV consumption polices didn’t contribute much but could represent a
market continues to shape the evolution of the PV market as a complementary driver in the near future.
whole. As we have seen in 2019, the global growth was limited Mexico’s installations reached 1,9 GWdc in 2019, in a complex
due to the decline of the first market, which almost wiped out the policy environment, which might put the brakes on its market in
global growth. the coming years.
The level of installation required to enter the top 10 have Around 1,6 GW of mostly distributed PV was installed in Taiwan
increased steadily since 2014: from 843 MW to 1,5 GW in 2018 in 2019, and more are expected to come online in 2020.
and 3,1 GW in 2019. This reflects the global growth trend of the
solar PV market. Finally above the GW threshold, Turkey installed around
1,4 GWdc of solar PV in 2019.

FIGURE 2.4: EVOLUTION OF MARKET SHARE OF TOP COUNTRIES

100
92% 91%
89% 91%
88% 88%
84% 86% 84% 86%
83%
80 77% 77% 77% 78%
75%
72% 73%
68%

60 57%
51%
% 45%
44%
42%
40
31% 30%
29%
27% 27% 26%

20

0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

1st Global PV Market Top 5 Global PV Markets Top 10 Global PV Markets

SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 13

CHAPTER 2 PV MARKET DEVELOPMENT TRENDS

THE GLOBAL PV INSTALLED CAPACITY / CONTINUED

TABLE 2.1: EVOLUTION OF TOP 10 PV MARKETS

RANKING 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

1. GERMANY ITALY GERMANY CHINA CHINA CHINA CHINA CHINA CHINA CHINA

2. ITALY GERMANY ITALY JAPAN JAPAN JAPAN USA INDIA INDIA USA

3. CZECH REP. CHINA CHINA USA USA USA JAPAN USA USA INDIA

4. JAPAN USA USA GERMANY UK UK INDIA JAPAN JAPAN JAPAN

5. FRANCE FRANCE JAPAN ITALY GERMANY INDIA UK TURKEY AUSTRALIA VIETNAM

6. USA JAPAN FRANCE UK SOUTH AFRICA GERMANY GERMANY GERMANY TURKEY AUSTRALIA

7. CHINA BELGIUM AUSTRALIA ROMANIA FRANCE KOREA THAILAND KOREA GERMANY SPAIN

8. SPAIN UK INDIA INDIA KOREA AUSTRALIA KOREA AUSTRALIA MEXICO GERMANY

9. BELGIUM AUSTRALIA GREECE GREECE AUSTRALIA FRANCE AUSTRALIA BRAZIL KOREA UKRAINE

10. AUSTRALIA GREECE BULGARIA AUSTRALIA INDIA CANADA TURKEY UK NETHERLANDS KOREA
RANKING
EU 1. 1. 1. 2. 3. 3. 4. 5. 4. 2.

MARKET LEVEL TO ACCESS THE TOP 10

389 MW 426 MW 843 MW 792 MW 779 MW 675 MW 818 MW 944 MW 1 621 MW 3 130 MW

SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.

Other countries that installed significant amounts of PV but below limited for the time being, they start to impact at a very low level,
the GW, are France (996 MW), Poland (804 MW), Argentina which can lead to discrepancies in national statistics of several IEA
(775 MW), Italy (758 MW), Belgium (587 MW), Israel (556 MW) PVPS countries. Off-grid numbers are difficult to track and most
and finally, Kazakstan and Malaysia which are just below the numbers are estimates. Changes and decommissioning are higher
500 MW threshold. for these applications than in other segments and can lead to
number glitches. In this report, global annual installations and the
The total installed capacity in most countries takes decommissioning
cumulative capacity are computed based on a variety of sources and
of PV plants into account. While such numbers remain relatively
could, despites all efforts, differ from other publications.

FIGURE 2.5: GLOBAL PV MARKET IN 2019 FIGURE 2.6: CUMULATIVE PV CAPACITY END 2019

OTHER COUNTRIES,
18,5%
OTHER COUNTRIES, CHINA, 27,0% CHINA, 32,9%
23,5% FRANCE, 1,6%
SOUTH KOREA, 1,8%
111,6 UK, 2,2% 623,2
SOUTH KOREA, 2,8% AUSTRALIA, 2,6%
GW GW
UKRAINE, 3,2% ITALY, 3,4%
GERMANY, 3,4%
USA, 11,9%
INDIA, 6,9%
SPAIN, 4,3%
USA, 12,2%
AUSTRALIA, 4,3% GERMANY, 7,9%
VIETNAM, 4,3% INDIA, 9,0%
JAPAN, 10,1%
JAPAN, 6,3%

SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS. SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 14

CHAPTER 2 PV MARKET DEVELOPMENT TRENDS

PV MARKET SEGMENTS outweighing the savings in transmission costs and the self-
consumption possibilities brought by embedded installations.
Ground mounted utility-scale PV installations increased in 2019
Solar PV experienced another growth year mainly driven by utility-
with more than 70,5 GW, compared to 64 GW in 2018 and 63 GW
scale projects which continued to develop fast both in established
in 2017. However, the share of utility-scale still represented
markets and in countries which only appeared recently on the PV
around 63% of cumulative installed capacity because distributed
development map. Although the role of distributed generation over
PV also grew significantly, up to 41,1 GW in 2019 compared to
large, centralized installations, should not be underestimated,
36 GW in 2018. Off-grid and edge-of-the-grid applications are
utility-scale PV is likely to keep dominating electricity generation in
increasingly integrated in these two large categories.
many countries. The main reason are the economies of scale,

FIGURE 2.7: ANNUAL SHARE OF CENTRALIZED AND DISTRIBUTED GRID-CONNECTED INSTALLATIONS 2009 - 2019

100

80

60

40

20
Grid-connected distributed

0
Grid-connected centralized
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.

FIGURE 2.8: CUMULATIVE SHARE OF GRID CONNECTED PV INSTALLATIONS 2009 - 2019

100

80

60

40

20
Grid-connected distributed

0
Grid-connected centralized
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 15

CHAPTER 2 PV MARKET DEVELOPMENT TRENDS

PV MARKET SEGMENTS / CONTINUED

UTILITY-SCALE PV: THE PV MARKET DRIVING FORCE replaced the scheme with a time window of one year calendar to two
schemes with a one-hour or an instant time window and Belgium
Utility-scale PV plants are in general ground-mounted (or floating)
which totally or partially supressed net-metering in some regions for
installations. In some cases, they could be used for self-
new installations. Vietnam has replaced the successful net-metering
consumption when close to large consumption centers or
payment mechanism from rooftop solar projects with a direct trading
industries, but generally they feed electricity into the grid.
scheme. However, some emerging PV markets still set up net-
Due to the simplicity of feed-in policies, with or without tenders, metering schemes as they are easier to set in place and do not
utility-scale applications are thriving in new PV markets. More require investment in complex market access or regulation for the
countries are proposing tendering processes to select the most excess PV electricity. Net-metering has been announced or
competitive projects, which trigger a significant decline in the implemented recently, mainly in the Middle East (Bahrain, Dubai and
value of PPAs and enlarge horizons for PV development. Lebanon) and in Latin America (Chile, Peru, Ecuador) but also in Asia
Merchant PV, where PV electricity is directly sold to electricity (some states in India, Indonesia, Thailand, etc) and in some emerging
markets or consumers is experiencing growth in numerous countries in Europe (Albania, Romania and Turkey).
countries, but this market driver remains limited so far.
An important factor in the success of self-consumption schemes is
New utility-scale PV plants are increasingly using trackers to the retail electricity price which is still being maintained artificially
maximise production and in parallel, the use of bifacial PV low in some countries. Subsidies for fossil fuels are still a reality
modules increases relatively fast as well. and reduce the attractiveness of solar PV installations, also in
market segments involving self-consumption. Conversely, the PV
The addition of storage systems also becomes a trend in some market tends to grow quickly when electricity prices increase. In
countries, either pushed by specific rules in tenders or by the Brazil, the distributed segment grew with 482 MW in 2018 and
willingness to better serve the wholesale and grid services markets. 1,5 GW in 2019 due to rising electricity prices. Rising electricity
After years when feed-in tariffs policies drove the utility-scale market, prices in Australia and South Africa are also responsible for the
tenders are now the key regulation to unlock PV development. massive uptake of solar PV by residential consumers.
Amongst the countries proposing tenders, France, Germany,
Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain can be Overall, the main trend goes in the direction of self-consuming PV
mentioned in the EU, the UAE, Jordan and Oman in the Middle East, electricity in most of the countries, often with adequate
Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala and Nicaragua in Latin America, Egypt, regulations offering a value for the excess electricity. This can be
Morocco and Tunisia in Africa, and Nepal and Sri Lanka are the done with a FiT, a feed-in-premium added to the spot market price
newcomers in Asia. However, more and more tenders are being or more complex net-billing. Unfortunately, the move towards
launched for small-scale market segments. In 2019, several pure self-consumption schemes can create temporary market
European countries organized tenders for market segments from slowdowns, especially if the transition is abrupt. However, if the
500 kW up to 20 MW (France and Germany for instance). market conditions are favourable and the market regains
confidence, self-consumption can become a market driver.
Until recently, tenders offered an alternative to unsubsidised
installations due to the lack of competitiveness with wholesale The distributed market has been oscillating around 16-19 GW
market prices but constrained the market, while favouring the from 2011 to 2016, until China succeeded in developing its own
most competitive solutions (and not always the most innovative, distributed market: it allowed the distributed PV market to grow
unless mentioned explicitly). Spain and Chile were the first significantly to more than 36 GW globally in 2017 to 41 GW in
markets to become attractive for utility-scale PV plants financed 2019 after a year of market stabilization.
under merchant PV business models (wholesale market electricity
Several countries promote collective and distributed self-
sales only, possibly adding grid services), which is expected to
consumption as a new model for residential and commercial
shape differently the PV market in the coming years. The lowest
electricity customers. This model allows different consumers
PV electricity prices signal the start of a new era where merchant
located in the same building or private area (collective self-
PV could start to compete with policy-driven PV installations.
consumption), or in the same geographical area which requires to
use the public grid (distributed or virtual self-consumption), to share
PROSUMERS, EMPOWERING CONSUMERS the self-generated electricity; thereby unlocking access to self-
consumption for a wide range of consumers. Such regulation, if well
Prosumers are consumers producing part of their own electricity implemented, will allow development of new business models for
consumption. prosumers, creating jobs and local added value while reducing the
Historically driven by simple financial incentives such as net- price of electricity for consumers and energy communities. These
metering, prosumers segments increasingly develop thanks to models of production could also positively impact grid integration of
various schemes based on the concept of self-consumption. Indeed, PV systems by enhancing adequacy between production and
the new generation of solar schemes are often making the distinction demand. In the case of “virtual (or distributed) self-consumption”,
between the electricity consumed and the electricity injected into the the prosumers are not grouped behind a meter. We will call “virtual
grid, thereby incentivizing self-consumption. Examples of established (or distributed) self-consumption”, the case where production and
markets moving away from net-metering are Denmark which consumption can be compensated at a certain distance, while
paying a fair share to cover the grid costs.
IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 16
CHAPTER 2 PV MARKET DEVELOPMENT TRENDS

EMERGING PV MARKET SEGMENTS complementing their agricultural business. By positioning PV

systems above the crops or plants, the system can permit raising
different kinds of crops with a reduced solar insulation, allowing a
FLOATING PV: A GROWING MARKET SEGMENT better development in sunny regions, and possibly new business
models, such as recovering of damaged crops for instance, or
Land is scare in many countries, certainly close to consumption different crops which would not have been profitable in some
hubs, where it matters even more to install PV massively and large- regions. This dual use imposes a different kinds of PV systems,
scale installation could play an important role, but the potential is which can in some case change their position, from horizontal to
limited. Floating PV appears to be a smart alternative: installing vertical and allow either maximum PV production or maximum
floating PV systems on man-made lakes, water reservoirs and even crop production depending on the weather conditions. Defining
seas, allows to develop utility-scale PV without using land. By Agri-PV could be difficult and most existing plants on agricultural
installing PV on water reservoirs, it has been shown that PV limits land could hardly be qualified as such. We will define Agri-PV in
evaporation. Installed on the lake of a hydropower plant, it benefits general as a PV plant which allows a combined land use, for
from an already existing grid connection, and reduces the system agriculture and for PV plants, without putting the emphasis
cost. China has led the floating PV market until 2018 but went down completely on the PV plant.
in 2019 due to a change in incentives. Other Asian countries such
as Korea, Japan, Singapore or Vietnam, as well as some
European countries such as France, Germany, the Netherlands BIPV: WAITING FOR THE START
and others had either operational installations or research ones at
The BIPV market remains a niche which can hardly been
the end of 2019 and more are being developed in 2020. While the
estimated properly. With multiple business models, different
total installed capacity reached 1,9 GW at the end of 2019, the
incentives, all kinds of buildings or infrastructures (including
development speed increased, with China leading the pace.
roads), the BIPV market cannot easily be estimated. From tiles
However, the market declined in China in 2019 while the rest of the
and shingles for residential roofs to glass curtain walls and more
world was growing.
exotic façade elements, BIPV covers different segments with
different technologies. Depending on the definition considered, the
AGRI-PV: DUAL USE WHICH IS EXPECTED TO EMERGE FAST BIPV market ranged from 200 MW to 300 MW per year in Europe
and probably reached 1 GW globally, while the difference between
The development of PV on agricultural land is a given but, in some custom-made elements and traditional glass-glass modules can
cases, crops have been replaced by photovoltaics and thus the be difficult to assess. In that respect, simplified BIPV, using
use of the land has mostly shifted towards electricity production. conventional PV modules with dedicated mounting structures,
Agri-PV proposes a different perspective with the possibility to experienced positive developments in numerous EU countries in
use PV as an additional source of revenues for farmers, 2019. The market is also split between some industrial products

FIGURE 2.9: ANNUAL SHARE OF CENTRALIZED, DISTRIBUTED, OFF-GRID AND FLOATING INSTALLATIONS

120

100

80

GW 60

40 Floating
Off-grid
20
Grid-connected distributed

0
Grid-connected centralized ground-mounted
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 17

CHAPTER 2 PV MARKET DEVELOPMENT TRENDS

EMERGING PV MARKET SEGMENTS / CONTINUED

such as prefabricated tiles (found in the USA and some European Rwanda has achieved substantial results in the electrification of
countries for instance), to custom-made architectural products remote areas through the implementation of pay-as-you-go SHS.
fabricated on demand. The target of the government is to bring off-grid systems to 48%
of the population towards 2024.
OFF-GRID MARKET DEVELOPMENT Bangladesh installed an impressive amount of off-grid solar home
systems (SHS) in recent years. An estimated 5,8 million stand-
Numbers for off-grid applications are generally not tracked with
alone systems were already operational in 2019, in line with the
the same level of accuracy as grid-connected applications. The
nation’s goal of 6 million in total by 2021. Through the programme
off-grid and edge-of-the-grid market can hardly be compared to
10% of the households should gain access to electricity through
the grid-connected market. The rapid deployment of grid-
SHS by 2020.
connected PV dwarfed the off-grid market. Nevertheless, off-grid
applications are developing more rapidly than in the past, mainly Despite its central grid dominated electrification efforts, India had
thanks to rural electrification programs essentially in Asia and foreseen up to 2 GW of off-grid installations by 2022, including
Africa but also in Latin America. twenty million solar lights in its National Solar Mission. In March
2019, the central government approved a new programme to help
In most European countries, the off-grid market remains a very
farmers install solar pumps and grid-connected solar power
small one, mainly for remote sites, leisure and communication
projects though pay-as-you-go models.
devices that deliver electricity for specific uses. Some mountain
sites are equipped with PV as an alternative to bringing fuel to PV increasingly represents a competitive alternative to providing
remote, not easily accessible places. However, this market electricity in areas where traditional grids have not yet been
remains quite small, with at most some MW installed per year per deployed. In the same way as mobile phones are connecting
country. Regulations constraining self-consumption have led to people without the traditional lines, PV is expected to leapfrog
residential homeowners in Portugal for instance to go for off-grid complex and costly grid infrastructure, especially to reach the
PV. However, this relates more to traditional PV grid connected “last miles”. The challenge of providing electricity for lighting and
systems than the usual off-grid applications. Sweden has a stable communication, including access to the internet, will see the
off-grid PV market mainly constituted of systems for holiday progress of PV as one of the most reliable and promising sources
cottages, marine applications and caravans. In 2017 and 2018, of electricity in developing countries in the coming years.
about 2,06 MW and 2,03 MW respectively of off-grid applications
In most developed countries in Europe, Asia or the Americas, this
were sold and 1,94 MW in 2019.
trend remains unseen and the future development of off-grid
In Australia, a total cumulative capacity of 284 MW of off-grid applications will most probably only be seen on remote islands. The
systems have been installed in 2019. case of Greece is rather interesting in Europe, with numerous
islands not connected to the mainland grid that have installed dozens
Japan has reported 2 MW of new off-grid applications in 2019:
of MW of PV systems in the previous years. These systems,
bringing the installed capacity around 175 MW, mainly in the non-
providing electricity to some thousands of customers will require
domestic segment.
rapid adaptation of the management of these mini grids to cope with
In some countries in Asia and in Africa, off-grid systems with high penetrations of PV. The French West Indies have already
back-up represent an alternative to bring the grid into remote imposed specific grid codes to PV system owners as PV production
areas. Two types of off-grid systems can be distinguished: must be forecasted and announced to better plan grid management.
• Mini-grids, also termed as isolated grids, involve small-scale
electricity generation with a capacity between 10 kW and 10
MW. This grid uses one or more renewable energy sources PV AND THE STORAGE
(solar, hydro, wind, biomass) to generate electricity and serves MARKET DEVELOPMENT
a limited number of consumers in isolation from national
electricity transmission network. Back-up power can be
Higher PV penetration levels increases the need for real time and
batteries and/or diesel generators.
seasonal balancing which can be achieved through storage.
• Stand-alone systems, for instance solar home systems (SHS) Storing electricity allows to integrate more renewable energy into
that are not connected to a central power distribution system the electricity grid and can provide other benefits as well:
and supply power for individual appliances, households or small electricity storage can support energy management both on the
(production) business. Batteries are also used to extend the demand side and on the production side, thereby reducing the use
duration of energy use. of less efficient peak power units. Furthermore, the growing
competitivity of storage increasingly allows to avoid transmission
This trend is specific to countries that have enough solar resources
and distribution infrastructure reinforcement.
throughout the year to make a PV system viable. In such countries,
PV has been deployed to power off-grid cities and villages or for Australia and the United States are the most mature markets
agricultural purposes such as water pumping installations. when it comes to storage, with respectively 2,7 GWh and 1 GWh
installed at the end of 2019.
IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 18
CHAPTER 2 PV MARKET DEVELOPMENT TRENDS

Storage can be physically linked to the PV plant (solar-plus- change such as green fuels which can be used for mobility and for
storage system). Large-scale solar-plus-storage and projects storage. Indeed, one key technology for the energy transition,
can serve several purposes: reduced grid connection costs, especially when it comes to seasonal storage is probably green
reduced curtailment and delivery of grid services. Tenders for hydrogen production. After years of research and pilot projects, the
solar-plus-storage have been organized in several countries in first commercial hydrogen plants are being built all over the world.
recent years and are expected to come online soon for instance
in Chad (200 MW), China (202 MW/202 MWh), Israel (168 MW),
Mexico (32 MW/7 MWh), South Sudan (20 MW/35 MWh) and in PV PER SEGMENT
the UK (500 MW).
For prosumers, the main advantage of PV in combination with Globally, centralized PV continued to represent more than 63% of
storage is to increase the self-consumption of the PV installation. the market in 2019, mainly driven by China, the USA, and emerging
Storage in combination with smart energy management systems PV markets. In the same trend as in previous years, 2019 saw again
allow to shift part of the consumption when electricity prices are some new records in terms of PV electricity prices through
lower for instance. Furthermore, when the legal framework allows extremely competitive tenders. Although renewed competitive
it, SME and residential prosumers can get access to the market to tenders contributed to the utility-scale market, distributed PV also
valorise this flexibility through the aggregation of their profiles. increased significantly in 2019, with more than 41,1 GW installed;
with 17,9 GW from China alone. Remarkably, the distributed
Until recently Germany and Australia where amongst the rare
segment took off in the Middle East due to adequate policies in
nations offering rebates for residential storage systems in
Israel and Jordan.
Germany through a limited budget for loan applications and in
Australia through state government subsidies, as well as low- With the exception of the European market which incentivized
interest loans and demand response schemes. However, more residential segments from the start, initially most of the major PV
countries are willing to incentivize the local storage of PV electricity developments in emerging PV markets are coming from utility-
to integrate more renewables in the grid. In Flanders, Belgium, a scale PV. This evolution had different causes. Utility-scale PV
temporary rebate has been granted for the purchase of batteries. requires developers and financing institutions to set up plants in a
Batteries are incentivized through tax rebates for residential solar relatively short time. This option allows the start of using PV
systems coupled with storage in Italy and commercial ones in electricity in a country faster than what distributed PV requires.
Austria. Korea, Sweden and Switzerland are providing financial Moreover, tenders are making PV electricity even more attractive
incentives for storage for residential consumers. in some regions. However, both trends are compatible as some
policies were implemented recently in emerging markets to
Finally, the deployment of PV technology can also work as a
incentivize rooftop installations and tenders for rooftop installations
catalyst for other technologies with a potential to tackle climate
are being organized in several historical markets.

FIGURE 2.10: GRID-CONNECTED CENTRALIZED AND DISTRIBUTED PV INSTALLATIONS BY REGION IN 2019

100

80

60

40

20
Grid-connected distributed

0
Grid-connected centralized
Asia-Pacific Europe The Americas Middle East
and Africa

SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 19

CHAPTER 2 PV MARKET DEVELOPMENT TRENDS

PV DEVELOPMENT PER REGION THE AMERICAS

Figure 2.11 illustrates the evolution of the grid-connected PV The Americas represented 25,5 GW of installations and a total
installations share per region from 2000 to 2019. cumulative capacity of 101,1 GW in 2019. If most of these
capacities are installed in the USA, several countries have
The early PV developments started with the introduction of incentives
started to install PV in the central and southern countries of the
in Europe, particularly in Germany, and caused a major market uptake
continent: first in Chile and Honduras and more recently in
in Europe that peaked in 2008. While the global market size grew from
Mexico and Brazil.
around 200 MW in 2000 to around 1 GW in 2004, the market started
to grow very fast, thanks to European markets in 2004. In 2008, Spain In a nutshell, PV is developing in the Americas mostly through
fuelled market development while Europe as a whole accounted for tenders except in the USA. Distributed applications start to
more than 80% of the global market: a performance repeated until develop in several countries.
2010. From around 1 GW in 2004, the market doubled in 2007 and
The USA’s PV market fuelled the growth on the entire continent for
reached 8 GW and 17 GW in 2009 and 2010.
years, while some other countries contributed marginally until the
From 2011 onward, the share of Asia and the Americas started to last years. Driven by a tax credit and self-consumption or net-
grow rapidly, with Asia taking the lead. This evolution is quite metering policies in more than 40 states, the USA has largely
visible and still actual today, with the share of the Asia-Pacific contributed to the PV market development. It is the home of
region stabilizing around 52% in 2019, whereas the European innovative business models for small-scale installations and
share of the PV market went down to around 9% and came back competitive utility-scale installations. The market grew in 2019 and
to 18% in 2019. positions the USA as the key American PV market. The installations
in 2019 amounted to 13,3 GW, with a total capacity of 75,8 GW.
The share of the PV market in the Middle East and in Africa
remained stable and relatively small compared to other regions of North of the USA, Canada has averaged approximately 275 MW
the world up to 2019. per year of new solar PV capacity over the past decade, over 90%
of it in the province of Ontario. The vast majority of Canada’s solar
Detailed information about most IEA PVPS countries can be capacity was installed under Ontario’s FIT program (2009-17),
which included a local content regulation that connected the PV
found in the yearly National Survey Reports and the Annual
market development with local manufacturing. From a peak of
Report of the programme. IEA PVPS Task 1 representatives
over 750 MW installed in 2014, the market fell to a trough of
can be contacted for more information about their own approximately 100 MW in 2018, recovering somewhat last year to
individual countries. 232 MW, for a total estimated installed capacity of 3,3 GW.

FIGURE 2.11: EVOLUTION OF REGIONAL PV INSTALLATIONS

700

600

500

400
GW
300 The Americas
Rest of the World
200
Middle East & Africa
100 Europe

0
Asia-Pacific
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 20

CHAPTER 2 PV MARKET DEVELOPMENT TRENDS

Mexico experienced a significant market growth with several GW Several other countries in Central and Latin America have put
of PV projects in the last years, under competitive call for tenders. support schemes in place for PV electricity, and an increasing
The market experienced some policy difficulties in 2019 but its number of power plants are connected to the grid mainly in
potential remains high given the need for new electricity sources Dominican Republic, Ecuador and El Salvador, closely followed
and a dynamic economy. The installations in 2019 amounted to by Uruguay and Panama which could indicate that the time has
1,9 GW, with a total capacity of 5,0 GW. come for PV in the Americas.
Chile, the most recent of the IEA PVPS country members, has
installed 2,7 GW and is one of the most dynamic markets in the ASIA-PACIFIC
region. With a record irradiation level in the north of the country,
utility-scale PV plants popped up rapidly at record-low production
costs levels. Green hydrogen production could be the next step for The Asia-Pacific region installed close to 58,2 GW in 2019 and
this country while the harsh solar conditions in some locations are producing more than 351,2 GW in PV electricity. Mainly
could impose some technical evolution of the PV panels due to the market slowdown in China, the region experienced
technology to cope with high UV conditions. Distributed a significant lower growth year compared to 2018 where
generation should progress in the coming years. The new 70,6 GW were installed. In 2019 the region represented 52% of
installations in 2019 amounted to 288 MW. the global PV installations.
Outside of the IEA PVPS membership, Brazil remains the most China remained the key market in Asia, with more than 30 GW
important market: it finished the year 2019 with 4,5 GW of PV installed and more than 200 GW cumulative capacity. The
installed capacity with most of the newly installed capacity coming undisputed market and industry leader saw its market being
from distributed generation. The rooftop segments almost tripled reduced by one third in 2019, under pressure from new policies.
with over 1,4 GW of new installations during 2019. Utility-scale However, it continues to lead the Asian and Global PV market.
projects represented 650 MW, a stable number compared to While utility-scale plants will be forced to improve their
previous years. Several tenders were launched from 2014 until competitiveness towards conventional power plants, China has
2019 and drove approximately 2,1 GW of projects which are now also developed significantly distributed PV applications. In this
connected to the grid. More than 2 GW of additional utility-scale respect, poverty alleviation programmes have played an
PV projects awarded through auctions are expected to be built in innovative role in supporting social policies through PV
the coming years. High electricity prices are driving the development. The so-called “Frontrunner” programme has also
distributed market, which experienced a major growth in 2019. allowed for the promotion of high efficiency products while the
industry continued growing. The industry landscape is definitively
In other countries, such as Argentina, the development is starting
leading the pace globally, with a constant appearance of new
to take off, with 775 MW cumulative installed capacity in the
actors, in all steps of the value chain and increased investments
country at the end of 2019 and more is expected to come online
in new production capacities. China is poised to remain the key
in 2020. As often it is the case, the government target of 3 GW of
market and industry leader for several years.
renewable energies (including 300 MW of PV), was beaten by the
market: PV secured significantly more in the first tenders, with Japan is one of the oldest PV markets and in the last decade has
916 MW allocated in 2016. experienced a significant market development. With 7 GW
installed in 2019 and 63,2 GW of cumulative installed capacity, the
In Peru, a total of 284 MW of solar PV was installed at the end of
country has continued to develop PV installations in all market
2019, mainly through large-scale projects awarded in tenders in
segments, even if the market developed faster for utility-scale
2016 and 2018. Several programmes related to rural
plants in the last year due to commission deadlines for FIT
electrification are in place for a few years and since 2018 a net-
projects. Japan is looking rapidly at VIPV as an option for
billing scheme for installations up to 200 kW has been introduced,
increased decarbonization of the transport sector.
as well as a scheme for projects up to 10 MW.
Australia has for some years experienced a fast and massive PV
2015 was a decisive year for the PV market in Honduras with 388
development. It initially started in rooftop applications, especially
MW installed. However, the following years were characterized
in the residential segment, and it shifted quite rapidly to utility-
by a reduced level of installations. The cumulative capacity
scale applications which are now massively developed. Australia
installed reached 549 MW at the end of 2019. The country also
is a perfect example of how competitive PV development is an
invested in more than 2 700 solar home systems (SHS) to power
easy task, with penetration levels which are now making the
villages, schools and municipalities.
country the global number one in terms of PV capacity per
In Colombia, around 90 MW have been installed until the end of capita. The decline in incentives, matched with the increasing
2019. The 2022 objectives of the government for renewables are competitiveness of PV, has had little impact on the PV market.
set at 1 500 MW: to achieve this goal a first tender has been Australia is also home of one of the key world-class research
launched in 2019. In 2018, the country issued a new regulation for centres on PV. 4,8 GW have been installed in 2019, bringing the
distributed solar generation; a net-metering scheme and the total capacity to 16,3 GW.
possibility to sell surplus power to the national grid were introduced.

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CHAPTER 2 PV MARKET DEVELOPMENT TRENDS

ASIA-PACIFIC / CONTINUED

Korea has experienced a fast market growth in the last two years In 2019, Taiwan installed about 1,6 GW after having installed
and has installed 3,1 GW in 2019, with now 11,2 GW producing 1 GW in 2018, it now reaches 4,3 GW of cumulative capacity.
electricity. The country was for a long time one of the few using an The market is supported by a FiT scheme guaranteed for 20
incentive scheme based on green certificates. A large part of the years. Larger systems and ground-mounted systems have to be
market consists of utility-scale PV applications while rooftop PV approved in a competitive bidding process. The FiT level is
represents only a small fraction of the market. The high density of higher for floating PV and the projects employing high efficiency
population in cities can explain partially this, while some cities PV modules.
experienced small-scale installations, outside of any regulation.
The Government of Bangladesh has been emphasizing the
The country is home to one of the global industry leaders and is
development of solar home systems (SHS) and solar mini grids
quite active on BIPV and VIPV. In 2020, the country was about to
since about half of the population has no access to electricity.
introduce CO2-content based regulations for PV tenders.
Thanks to the decrease in prices of the systems and a well-
Thailand was one of the first countries in Asia to develop PV, conceived micro-credit scheme, off-grid PV deployment exploded
mainly through utility-scale plants. However, the country installed in recent years. The country targets 3,2 GW of renewables by
only 16 MW in 2019 and was home to 3,5 GW of PV systems at 2021, out of which 1,7 GW of PV. In total, more than 325 MW
the same time. Most existing installations are utility-scale PV were operational at the end of 2019.
plants between 1 and 90 MW but the new plans unveiled by the
In 2014, Indonesia put in place a solar policy which has been
Thai government in 2019 envisage PV deployment on rooftops, in
adapted in 2017 with the introduction of a cap reflecting the
addition to floating PV and utility-scale plants. Off-grid is
regional electricity supply costs. The first 50 MW of solar capacity
developed, especially in remote areas and the countryside but
came online in 2019 and the country’s total capacity was 80 MW
remains a niche market.
at the end of the year.
Malaysia has installed 499 MW in 2019 and reached the
Pakistan is reported to have installed close to 160 MW in 2019
cumulative capacity of 1,4 GW at the end of the year. The PV
and it is estimated that at least 1,3 GW have been installed so far.
market in Malaysia is dominated by grid-connected PV systems.
A FiT has been introduced for utility-scale PV in 2014 and since
The PV market growth in Malaysia was largely driven by Large
2015, a net-metering system exists for projects below 1 MW. The
Scale Solar (LSS) and Net Energy Metering (NEM) programmes.
government has published a target of 5 GW of solar power by
Off-grid remains a niche market. The country hosts several large
2022, therefore, more projects are expected to come online in the
factories from foreign manufacturers and has become therefore a
coming years.
major place for PV manufacturing in the last years.
After installing around 900 MW in 2016, the PV market in the
The PV market in India is driven by a mix of national targets and
Philippines decreased after the government set the due date for
support schemes at various legislative levels. The Indian market
the FiT program, thereby creating a rush of installations in 2016.
developed in the last years but plateaued around the 10 GW mark
In 2019, 25 MW were installed, for a total capacity of 928 MW.
on an annual basis. It reached close to 10,0 GWdc in 2019 due to
uncertainties around trade cases, module price fluctuations and Myanmar has connected its first utility scale plant in 2019
PPA renegotiations. Some policy changes such as tariff ceilings (50 MW) and a tender has been launched for about 1 GW of
and safeguard duties in combination with a falling currency also large-scale solar projects. In Singapore, the total PV installed
impacted the tendering procedures. In 2018 and 2019, several capacity was 349 MW at the end of 2019 with a target of
tender procedures found very few bidders and even not enough 350 MW in 2020. Uzbekistan joined a World Bank Group
takers in some cases. The support of the federal government in programme beyond the African continent. The Government of
India for PV is obvious, especially now that the government raised Uzbekistan is looking to develop up to 5 GW of solar power
its renewables ambition to 225 GW towards 2022 (and 100 GW for towards 2030 and has launched several tenders to achieve that
PV), but the road to a fast development implies additional policy goal. In Kazakhstan, several utility scale projects of 100 MW or
changes. The International Solar Alliance (ISA), led by Prime above were in the pipeline in 2018 amongst which 500 MW
Minister Modi and supported by more than 120 countries aims to came online in 2019. In 2018, the Electricity Authority in Nepal
install 1 000 GW in its member (emerging) countries by 2030. At launched tender procedures for projects ranging from 1 MW to
the end of 2019, India had 42,9 GWdc of PV capacity. 5 MW across 25 sites.
In Vietnam, the solar market took off in 2019 with over 5,3 GWdc
installed. The government has revised the FiT rates for utility-
scale, rooftop and floating PV projects and should allow further
growth of the utility-scale market. The positive reaction of the
developers to the FiT scheme led to a massive development in
2019, far beyond the government expectations for 2020
(800 MW). The next target for 2030, 12 GW, could be reached
faster than expected, while the country’s electricity demand is
expected to soar in the coming years.

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CHAPTER 2 PV MARKET DEVELOPMENT TRENDS

EUROPE EU goals spell out climate neutrality by 2050, support for

companies to become world leaders in clean products and
technologies as well as to ensure a just and inclusive transition.
Europe has led PV development for almost a decade and Proposals on how to finance this Green Deal were presented in
represented more than 70% of the global cumulative PV January 2020 and aim to mobilise EUR 1 trillion of sustainable
market until 2012. Since 2013, European PV installations investments over the next decade.
decreased while there has been rapid growth in the rest of the
In order to set a legal framework, a proposal for the European
world, mainly in Asia and the Americas. The fast development
Climate Law was published in March 2020. One month later, the
of PV led to a strong opposition from many stakeholders from
European Parliaments rapporteur for the Climate Law, Jytte
the energy sector, and the market declined rapidly in several
Guteland, announced that she will back a 65% emission reduction
countries. In addition, several countries implemented
target for 2030. This is a target, which would be in line with the UN
measures aiming at decreasing the cost of PV installations for
emission gap report from November 2019.
the community by retroactively changing the remuneration
levels or by adding taxes. This phenomenon happened mostly As a response to the economic slowdown due to the COVID-19
in Europe, where the fast development of PV took place before crisis, the European Council agreed on a EUR 750 billion recovery
other regions of the world: Spain, Italy, Czech Republic, fund on 21 July 2020. This fund is intended to set the Union firmly
Belgium and others took some measures with a consequent on the path to a sustainable and resilient recovery, creating jobs
impact on the confidence of developers and prosumers. and repairing the immediate damage caused by the COVID-19
pandemic whilst supporting the Union’s green and digital
With an improved competitiveness and new policies, Europe
priorities. The Member States now must prepare national
doubled its market share in 2019, with 15,9 GW installed,
recovery and resilience plans, which have to set the individual
which accounted for 18% of the global PV market. European
reform and investment agenda of the Member State concerned
countries had 131,3 GW of cumulative PV capacity by the end
for the years 2021-23. Eventually the budget needs to be
of 2019, the second largest capacity globally. It is important to
approved by the European Parliament.
distinguish the European Union and its countries, which benefit
from a common regulatory framework for part of the energy State of Play
market, and other European countries which have their own
For 2030, the Green Deal raises the bar compared with the recast
energy regulations and are not part of the European Union.
of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) and calls for an
Most European countries used Feed-in Tariffs schemes to start accelerated reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the
developing PV and moved in the last years to self-consumption (or European Union up to 55% compared with 1990 levels.
variants) for distributed PV while tenders became the standard for
The European Commission communication from 2018 "A
utility-scale PV. These trends are not typical to Europe, but self-
European long-term strategic vision for a prosperous, modern,
consumption developed faster here than in other locations.
competitive and climate neutral economy" presented nine
Collective and delocalized self-consumption are developing in
different scenarios for achieving the decarbonisation targets by
several countries. BIPV has been incentivized more than in any
2050. However, for the next decade all scenarios assume the
other location in the past but remains a niche market after several
same pathway with a moderate 13 to 14% increase of electricity
GW of installations. Simplified BIPV seems to develop well in some
consumption compared to 2015. The GHG emission reduction of
countries. Merchant utility-scale PV develops in Spain and Germany
46% projected in all scenarios for 2030 is slightly higher than the
and could lead to a significant market share in a near future.
40% reduction target of RED II. The solar capacity of 320,5 GW
considered in the above-mentioned scenarios would require PV
EUROPEAN UNION systems with a nominal power capacity of 400 GW (concentrated
solar thermal power capacity was not considered here). This is
Policy Framework
more than 10% higher compared to the approximately 360 GW
In April 2009, the first European Renewable Energy Directive went needed to achieve the present 32% RES target in RED II.
into force. Between then and the end of 2019, the total capacity of
At the end of 2019, the total installed PV power capacity in the
grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the European
EU27 and the United Kingdom had surpassed 134 GW.
Union (EU28) had increased more than tenfold from 11,3 GW at
the end of 2008 to over 131,3 GW at the end of 2019. Almost 60% of this were residential and commercial rooftop
installations. The PV market in the European Union was declining for
In December 2018, the recast Renewable Energy Directive (RED
six years before the trend reversed in 2018. This trend continued in
II) set a target of 32% renewable energy and 40% GHG emission
2019 when the EU27 and the United Kingdom added about 15,9
reduction by 2030.
GW of new PV power capacity. Spain (4,8 GW), Germany (3,8 GW)
During the conference of parties (COP) 25 in December 2019, EU and the Netherlands (2,4 GW) were the leading three countries. For
Commission president Ursula von der Leyen presented a the first time, Poland was in the top five with a newly installed PV
European Green Deal, as already promised earlier in the political capacity of about 800 MW. Another four countries added more than
guidelines for the new European Commission 2019 – 2024. The 500 MW, namely Belgium, France, Hungary, and Italy.
IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 23
CHAPTER 2 PV MARKET DEVELOPMENT TRENDS

EUROPE / CONTINUED

Over the last few years, the number of European Member States premium. Utility-scale is marginal and off-grid installations
conducting auctions for solar energy has continuously increased represented a total of 16 MW at the end of the year 2019.
and driven down prices to the current average level of EUR
Despite high solar radiation, solar PV system installation in
35/MWh and EUR 70/MWh across the European Union. In July
Portugal has grown very slowly until 2019. In 2019, 155 MW of
2019, the Portuguese auction attracted the lowest bids. The
PV systems were newly installed increasing the cumulative
winning projects offered electricity between EUR 14,76/MWh and
capacity to 827 MW by the end of 2019. In 2019 and 2020, two
EUR 31,16/MWh and have to be realised by the end of June 2022.
tenders resulted in extremely low bids, with the lowest at
Spain was the leading market in 2019 with 4,8 GW installed which 0,011 EUR/kWh. To date, this was the most competitive bid ever,
almost doubled the total installed capacity to 9,9 GW. This was regardless of whether it can be achieved in the reality.
achieved thanks to the need to reach the EU 2020 RES targets. A
Austria installed 247 MW in 2019 and totalled 1,7 GW at the end
large part of the installations are utility-scale plants under tenders,
of the year, with almost all installations on rooftops. The market
but competitive utility-scale plants are also developing and could
has been largely driven by feed-in tariffs and similar incentives.
drive the market in the coming years. Rooftop applications under
BIPV installations reached 8 MW in 2019.
self-consumption represent some hundreds of MW.
Denmark installed 109 MW in 2019 and had at the end of 2019 a
Germany installed 3,8 GW in 2019 and has reached 49,0 GW
cumulative installed capacity of 1,4 GW. The PV systems on
cumulative capacity. The market is now partially driven by
buildings which is app. 20% of the market remains driven by the
competitive tenders for utility-scale PV plants which supplement a
requirements in the Energy Performance Building Directive and
dynamic self-consumption-based market for rooftop applications.
the possibility of self-consumption. The majority 80% of the PV
Decentralized storage is vibrant and growing for small-scale
systems is utility scale with a PPA.
applications, while competitive merchant PV starts to pop-up.
German has lost the edge it had a decade ago in manufacturing Finland installed 81 MW in 2019 and topped 214 MW at the end
but several innovative projects could bring it back on the global PV of the year, mostly for residential and commercial systems.
industry scene in the coming years. Off-grid PV is widely used in remote areas.
The Netherlands installed 2,4 GW of PV and reached 6,9 GW of For years, Norway was an off-grid market with little grid
cumulative capacity at the end of the year 2019. One of the most connected installations. The low energy prices in general left little
competitive markets in Europe is largely driven by self- space for PV to develop but a rooftop market is developing for
consumption measures, including delocalized self-consumption some years. 51 MW were installed in 2019, almost doubling the
and some utility-scale plants. Reverse tendering has been used to installed capacity to almost 120 MW at the end of the year.
allocate money to winning bidders.
In Croatia, PV systems with a capacity up to 5 MW are eligible for
France ambitiously pursues a growing market through tenders a FiT. According to the Croatian Energy Market Operator,
and self-consumption schemes; it installed close to 1,0 GW in 2019 53,43 MW of PV systems were installed under this scheme at the
and totalled 9,9 GW at the end of the year. France uses a CO2 end of May 2019. Around 6 MW additional capacity was added in
content rule in tenders, which could be expanded to self- 2019 for a total capacity of 70 MW. In April 2019, Hrvatska
consumption in 2020. BAPV remains an active market, while Elektroprivreda announced the construction of four PV power plants
floating PV is gaining speed. The goal is to multiply the market by with a combined capacity of 11,3 MW until April 2020. Until 2030 the
a factor of two to three in the coming years. company plans to increase its solar PV capacity to 350 MW.
Belgium installed close to 587 MW in 2019 and totalled 4,9 GW After two years of rapid growth 2010 and 2011, Slovakia’s market
cumulative capacity. Key policies are based on a local complex fell by almost 90% with only 35 MW and 45 MW new installations
interpretation of self-consumption rules, which differs in the three in 2012 and 2013 and has since been installing around 5 MW per
regions composing the federal state. The rooftop market has been year. The total capacity of 570 MW is more than three and a half
dynamic for years, while competitive utility-scale could start to times the original 160 MW capacity target for 2020.
pop-up in the coming years.
UK installed some hundreds of MW in 2019, far from the
Italy installed 758 MW in 2019, a higher value than the trend of GW-scale market it used to be a few years ago. The country had
about 400 MW in recent years and totalled around 21 GW. Now, more than 13 GW of PV at the end of the year 2019, with a market
the market is driven by a new decree approved in 2019, an mostly focused on small-scale applications. PPA-driven utility-
incentivized self-consumption scheme for plants up to 500 kW and scale PV could develop in the coming years.
tax credit measure (available for small size plants up to 20 kW).
Poland installed 900 MW the last year and Hungary has started
Sweden saw the market rising to 291 MW in 2019 with a total to develop PV rapidly, with a focus on small-scale installations.
capacity of 720 MW. Mostly concentrated in the residential and These countries came later on the market, while most
commercial segments, the market is driven by a mix of neighbouring countries developed PV in the early phase.
regulations and incentives including capital subsidies and feed-in

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CHAPTER 2 PV MARKET DEVELOPMENT TRENDS

In the Russian Federation the "Energy Strategy of Russia for the Morocco reached 200 MW of PV capacity at the end of 2019 with
Period Up to 2035" set a target share of renewable energy in total some uncertainties on the real installations. The market is split
electricity production at 4.5% by 2024. Furthermore, the Russian between utility-scale plants that the government would like to
government set a target of 25 GW for the installation of renewable develop and large rooftops for private companies. Ambitions exist
electricity capacities towards 2030. Solar photovoltaic capacity for further development, with less focus on solar CSP than in the
should reach 1,75 GW. In 2019 about 260 MW of new PV capacity recent past and local manufacturing is promoted by the
was installed in Russia, increasing the total capacity to around 1 authorities.
160 MW (including ca 400 MW in Crimea).
South Africa was the first major African PV market, under several
In Turkey, systems below 1 MW fall under the category of "non- tenders that led to 2,6 GW installed at the end of 2019. While a
licenced plants" which allowed the market to take off. At the end large part of the market was driven by tenders, the market should
of 2019, the cumulative capacity had exceeded 8,0 GW, most of it rebalance towards rooftop applications in the coming years under
in the category of "non-licenced" according to the Turkish government support.
transmission operator. In May 2019, the Turkish Energy Market
Egypt is the new African market leader with 1,65 GWac installed
Regulatory Authority (EPDK) published new rules for net metering
in one year. The policies engaged for several years now have
of PV systems with a capacity between 3 and 10 kW. Also, in May
started to produce positive effects and the market is poised to
2019, the Turkish Government amended the rules for "non-
develop further.
licenced plants" increasing the project size up to 5 MW. However,
only public installations used for agricultural irrigation, water In the Middle East, countries such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain,
treatment plants or waste treatment facilities are eligible as Jordan, Oman and the United Arab Emirates have defined
ground mounted projects. targets for renewable and solar energy for the coming years.
Tenders are an integral part of the plans for PV development in
In 2009, Ukraine introduced the "Green Tariff" policy, a feed-in
the short or long term in the region, while several were organized
tariff scheme for electricity generated from renewable energy
again in 2019 and more have been announced. More than
sources. The scheme was modified a few times in the last years
2 GWdc have been installed in the UAE through several plants and
to adapt the remuneration levels. The latest change, in August
more is expected to come.
2020, introduced retroactive cuts for existing plants and
compensations for curtailment. Over 3,5 GW of new PV power Jordan is aiming for 1 GW of PV in 2030 and already launched
capacity was installed in 2019, thus increasing the total capacity to several tenders and installed several hundreds of MW. Qatar
4,9 GW (excluding the approx. 400 MW in Crimea). published the results of its third tender for 800 MW in January
2020. Saudi Arabia launched a series of tenders in the past and
has again in 2020, with an initial objective totalling 3,3 GW. Bahrain
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA has announced the development of 225 MW; Oman has launched
several tenders, each for at least 500 MW and plans to reach 4 GW
of RES capacity by 2030, Tunisia launched a tender for 500 MW
For the past decade, many countries, especially in the Middle
and for 70 MW, Libya 100 MW. Lebanon plans 180 MW towards
East have started to connect large-scale PV power plants and
2020 and is investigating a plant of 500 MW as well.
more are in the pipeline. Several countries are defining PV
development plans and the prospects on the short to medium Due to the declining costs and the introduction of net metering
term are positive. The Middle East is amongst one of the most policies in Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia, the region is
competitive places for PV installations, with PPAs granted starting to tap into its solar distributed generation potential.
through tendering processes among the lowest in the world. In
In Africa, besides the above-mentioned countries, Algeria has
2019, around 5,0 GW have been installed in the region,
installed several hundreds of MW. Reunion Island, Senegal,
representing 5% of the global market.
Kenya, Mauritania, Namibia and Ghana have already installed
In MEA (Middle East and Africa) countries, the development of PV some capacity. As the costs are decreasing, the interest in PV is
remains modest compared to the larger markets, especially in the growing in other African countries. However, the market has not
African countries. However, almost all countries saw a small really taken off despite the huge potential and the growing
development of PV in the last years and some of them a significant competitiveness of solar PV, especially in off-grid applications.
increase. There is a clear trend in most countries to include PV in The main barrier is the financial aspect as the higher upfront
energy planning, to set national targets and to prepare the investment costs remains a barrier despite lower LCOE.
regulatory framework to accommodate PV. At the beginning of
The most competitive segment for the development of solar in
2020, more than 18,4 GW was operational in the region.
Africa, especially in remote areas, is PV plants to replace or
Israel has installed 556 MW in 2019 and reached a total capacity complement existing diesel generators. Such kinds of hybrid
of 1,9 GW at the end of 2019. The market is split between plants have been developed in Democratic Republic of Congo,
rooftop and utility-scale plants. The last tender conducted in Rwanda, Ghana, Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Cameroon,
2020 consisted of PV-plus-storage, a trend which increases in Gambia, Mauritania, Benin, Sierra Leone, Lesotho and others.
several countries.
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CHAPTER 2 PV MARKET DEVELOPMENT TRENDS

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA / CONTINUED

Pay-as-you-go models are used to leverage financing difficulties few. The question of African power markets is essential since
for residential consumers, different pricing formats exist to foster many countries have a small centralized power demand,
access to clean and reliable electricity. sometimes below 500 MW. In this respect, the question is not
only to connect PV to the grid but also to reinforce the electricity
Several large-scale PV plants have been announced or are under
grid infrastructure and interconnection with neighbouring
construction, therefore the development of PV is expected to
countries. However, concerning remote areas, micro-grids and
increase in the coming years mainly in Burkina Faso (20 MW
off-grid PV applications, such as water pumping installations, are
and 30 MW), Namibia (45 MW and 30 MW), Nigeria (100 MW),
expected to play a growing role in bringing affordable power to
Cameroon (30 MW and 25 MW projects ongoing) and Kenya
the consumers.
(several projects ranging from 30 MW to 80 MW) to name just a

TABLE 2.2: 2019 PV MARKET STATISTICS IN DETAIL

COUNTRY 2019 ANNUAL CAPACITY (MW) 2019 CUMULATIVE CAPACITY (MW)

DECENTRALIZED CENTRALIZED TOTAL DECENTRALIZED CENTRALIZED TOTAL
AUSTRALIA 2 248 2 510 4 758 10 562 5 783 16 344
AUSTRIA 237 10 247 1 684 18 1 702
BELGIUM 480 107 587 4 739 122 4 861
CANADA 91 141 232 1 176 2 150 3 326
CHILE 0 288 288 20 2 674 2 694
CHINA 12 200 17 900 30 100 63 730 141 512 205 242
DENMARK 24 85 109 1 207 155 1 362
FINLAND 81 0 81 214 0 214
FRANCE 454 512 966 5 826 4 108 9 934
GERMANY 3 038 797 3 835 41 121 7 895 49 016
ISRAEL 225 331 556 749 1 165 1 914
ITALY 504 254 758 8 953 11 913 20 865
JAPAN 4 154 2 877 7 031 40 919 22 273 63 192
KOREA 145 2 985 3 130 985 10 244 11 229
MALAYSIA 85 414 499 487 930 1 417
MEXICO 230 1 696 1 926 825 4 176 5 001
MOROCCO 1 0 1 0 206 206
NETHERLANDS 844 1 508 2 352 3 137 3 737 6 874
NORWAY 51 0 51 120 0 120
PORTUGAL 100 55 155 426 401 827
SOUTH AFRICA 0 151 151 345 2 215 2 560
SPAIN 550 4 201 4 751 997 8 913 9 910
SWEDEN 277 14 291 683 37 720
SWITZERLAND 325 0 325 2 498 0 2 498
THAILAND 8 8 16 650 2 879 3 529
TURKEY 0 1 398 1 398 10 8 537 8 547
UNITED STATES 4 871 8 401 13 272 30 011 45 759 75 770
IEA PVPS 32 222 46 643 77 865 222 278 287 594 509 872
NON-IEA PVPS 9 876 23 843 33 720 29 375 83 987 113 362
TOTAL 41 099 70 486 111 585 251 653 371 581 623 234

SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 26

 © GSE, Catalogue of Photovoltaic Plants Integrated with Innovative Characteristics

three
POLICY FRAMEWORK

In the early development of PV, many markets have been In addition to direct policies supporting PV development, other
powered by a broad spectrum of support policies, aiming at indirect policies have a tremendous effect on PV development, or
reducing the gap between PV’s cost of electricity and the price on some technologies. Sustainable building requirements, for
of conventional electricity sources. These support schemes took instance, will become increasingly essential to support a long-
various forms depending on the local specificities and evolved to lasting PV market development.
accommodate with market evolutions or policy changes.
Today, climate policies have an indirect effect but are shifting
In recent years, the increased competitiveness of PV has allowed upwards the competitiveness of renewable energy sources. Some
a number of market segments to develop without any form of countries have indicated the willingness to significantly increase
financial support. Since the question of the competitiveness of PV “carbon” taxes, propelling PV’s competitiveness and accelerating
is less pressing, a large part of new policies also are focussed on its development.
developing distributed PV through self-consumption schemes. In
In some countries, sustainability policies are part of a push
parallel, the development of utility-scale PV is starting to see the
towards a cleaner industry and in particular some technologies. In
development of private contracts known as Power Purchase
addition to GHG emissions, they focus on hazardous materials, air
Agreements (PPA). However, the competitiveness of PV is not yet
or land pollution and more.
guaranteed in all segments and locations. Furthermore, the
increased penetration of PV electricity lowers the average Grid codes and tariffs, even if not applicable to PV only, also frame
electricity prices. Therefore, targeted financial incentives might the ecosystem in which PV develops, and are adding or alleviating
still be needed for some years to overcome costs or investment constraints for developers and prosumers.
barriers in many countries.
This chapter focuses on existing policies and how they have
Policies supporting distributed PV and self-consumption policies contributed to develop PV. It pinpoints, as well, local
might be considered as non-financial incentives since they set up improvements and examines how the PV market reacted to
the regulatory environment to allow consumers to become these changes.
prosumers. However, these policies require fine tuning, especially
on grid costs and taxes, which in some cases could be considered Finally, cross-sectoral aspects of PV development will also imply
as indirect financial incentives. In general, self-consumption that PV will be submitted to additional regulations and policies,
policies as explained in detail below simplify and adapt the especially in the building and transport sector, but also in
regulatory framework to allow PV self-consumption to develop. agriculture, the urban environment, industrial processes and more.
Several countries continue to support financially self-consumption
through various schemes like “net-metering” or “net-billing” or
“feed-in-premiums”.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 27

CHAPTER 3 POLICY FRAMEWORK

FIGURE 3.1A: MAIN DRIVERS OF THE DISTRIBUTED PV FIGURE 3.1B: MAIN DRIVERS OF THE CENTRALIZED PV
MARKET IN 2019 MARKET IN 2019

NON-INCENTIVIZED NON INCENTIVIZED, 2%

SELF-CONSUMPTION, 10%
TRADING OF GREEN CERTIFICATES OR
TRADING OF GREEN CERTIFICATES OR
SIMILAR RPS-BASED SCHEMES, 8%
SIMILAR RPS-BASED SCHEMES, 0,4%

INCENTIVIZED SELF-CONSUMPTION
OR NET-METERING, 33%
41,1 FEED-IN TARIFF THROUGH 70,5
GW TENDERS OR PPA, 34% GW

FEED-IN TARIFF 44%

DIRECT SUBSIDIES OR TAX BREAKS, 12%
FEED-IN TARIFF THROUGH FEED-IN TARIFF, 43%
TENDERS OR PPA, 1,1%
DIRECT SUBSIDIES OR TAX BREAKS, 12%

SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS. SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.

PV MARKET DRIVERS
FIGURE 3.2: HISTORICAL MARKET INCENTIVES
AND ENABLERS
The question of market drivers is a complex one since the market
is always driven by a combination of several regulations and
incentives. In these figures, the focus is put on the major driver for FEED-IN TARIFF THROUGH
TENDERS OR PPA, 2,3%
each macro-segment (distributed or centralized), while other INCENTIVIZED SELF-CONSUMPTION
OR NET-METERING, 11,9%
drivers are playing a key role. This should be regarded as a NON-INCENTIVIZED
general indication of the main PV drivers. SELF-CONSUMPTION, 0,1%
DIRECT SUBSIDIES OR TAX BREAKS, 15,4%
623,2
Figure 3.1a, 3.1b and 3.2 taken together shows that in 2019, GW
around 5% of the volume of the market became independent of TRADING OF GREEN CERTIFICATES OR
support schemes or adequate regulatory frameworks: this implies SIMILAR RPS-BASED SCHEMES, 1,9%

installations not financially supported and realized through outside

of tenders or similar schemes. This is a significant improvement FEED-IN TARIFF 68,3%

compared to previous years. If small-scale, distributed

installations based on self-consumption were the first segment to SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.
develop, non-subsidized is gaining momentum for utility-scale PV.
The trend is clear, PV plants selling their production to corporate
Globally, about 44% of the PV installations are receiving a
customers have started to emerge in Spain and Chile and where
predefined tariff for part or all of their production; respectively
followed by project developers in the Australia, Germany, USA,
44% and 43% for the distributed and the centralized segments.
Denmark and, more recently, Italy and Sweden.
Despite the fact that the share of the market driven by FiT has not
Around 34% of utility-scale plants were realized through tenders: diminished significantly through the years, there is global trend
this is a significant increase which started a few years ago. In towards lower tariffs. This diminishing trend of the FiT is in line
comparison, tenders contributed to 1% of the distributed market, with the price decrease of the technology.
even if this number is expected to increase as more tenders are
With around 12% global market share, 21% for the distributed
launched for rooftop projects (amongst others in Bangladesh,
segment and 14% of the centralized segment, direct subsidies are
Bahrain, India, France, Myanmar). The sign that competitive
the third most represented form of support for PV, most of the
tenders have seen their share of the global market increasing to
time they cover only a part of the whole installation cost. They are
22% (compared to 7% before 2017) is not a major concern yet for
by definition a constraint to PV development.
the industry. However, as most countries are transitioning to
tenders to grant PPAs and the numbers are expected to further Self-consumption, supported by different mechanisms such as net-
grow in the coming years, the shrinking profit margins, especially metering and net-billing, represented 33% of the distributed PV
in super-competitive tenders, could become a threat for the long- market, a threefold increase compared to historical installations.
term stability of some market actors, hence creating more market Various forms of support to self-consumption schemes exist, for
concentration. example in Italy with the Scambio Sul Posto (a net-billing scheme),
Israel, or Germany. Although net-metering is being abolished in
historical markets, countries such as Thailand and Ecuador

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 28

CHAPTER 3 POLICY FRAMEWORK

introduced net-metering for residential PV owners recently. Net- Automatic or Ad Hoc Adjustment
metering remains an easy way to activate the distributed PV
FiT remains a very simple instrument to develop PV, but it needs
market but requires shifting to self-consumption later.
to be fine-tuned on a regular basis to ensure a stable market
Green certificates and similar schemes based on RPS represented development. Indeed, the market can grow out of control if there
around 5% of the market, a stable and low share which is is an imbalance between the level off the tariffs and effective cost
explained by the greater complexity of this type of scheme. Green of PV systems, especially when the budget available for the FiT
certificate trade still exists in countries such as Belgium, Norway, payments is not limited. To be sure, most market booms in
Romania and Sweden. Similar schemes based on RPS exist in countries with unlimited FiT schemes were caused by the
Australia and Korea for instance. unpredictable steep price decrease of PV systems, while the level
of the FiT was not adapted fast enough. This situation caused the
Incentives can be granted by a wide variety of authorities or
market to grow out of control, mainly in early markets in
sometimes by utilities themselves. They can be unique or add up
European countries. The market booms occurred in countries
to each other. Their lifetime is generally quite short, with frequent
such as Spain in 2008, Czech Republic in 2010, Italy in 2011,
policy changes, at least to adapt the financial parameters. Next to
Belgium in 2012 and to a certain extent in China in 2015, 2016 and
central governments, regional states or provinces can propose
2017, and to a lesser extend to other countries. Unfortunately,
either the main incentive or some additional ones. Municipalities
these booms have strained the budget and negatively affected the
are more and more involved in renewable energy development
public perception of PV, most of these markets took years to
and can offer additional advantages.
recover and reexperience growth only recently.
In some cases, utilities are proposing specific deployment
Therefore, many countries adopted the principle of decreasing FiT
schemes to their own customers, generally in the absence of
levels over time or introduced limited budgets. In Germany, the
national or local incentives, but sometimes to complement them.
level of the FiT can be adapted monthly to reduce the profitability
of PV investments if the market is growing faster than the target
decided by the government. Germany also planned a capacity
THE SUPPORT SCHEMES ceiling which has been removed recently to allow further
development of the market. In France and Italy, the FiT decrease
FEED-IN TARIFFS INCLUDING PPA is dependent on both installation rates and on economic
indicators. Other countries have opted for a market-based
The concept of FiT is quite simple. Electricity produced by the PV decrease strategy and adapt their FiT on a regular basis, such as
system and injected into the grid is paid at a predefined price and Japan and, China for instance.
guaranteed during a fixed period. In theory, the price could be
indexed on the inflation rate, but this is rarely the case. The FiT Tendering and Auctioning
model generally assumes that a PV system produces electricity Calls for tender are another way to grant FiT schemes with an
for injecting into the grid rather than for local consumption. indirect financial cap. This system has been adopted in many
However, a FiT can be used to incentivize self-consumption countries around the world, with the clear aim of increasing the
projects through a lower remuneration for the excess electricity competitiveness of PV electricity. Since bidders must compete
injected into the grid. with one another, they tend to reduce the bidding price at the
Amongst the IEA PVPS members, 16 countries had a FiT minimum possible and shrink their margins. This process is
implemented in 2019 (Australia, Austria, Canada, China, France, currently showing how low the bids can go under the constraint of
Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, competitive tenders. However, many believe such low bids are
Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey and the United States). possible with extremely low capital costs, low components costs
The attractiveness of FiT has been slightly reduced compared to and a reduced risk hedging. Therefore, it is conceivable that they
the early developments of PV but so far it still represents a major do not represent the average PV price in all cases but are
driver of PV installations. However, the decision of the Chinese showcases for super-competitive developers.
government to phase out FITs for PV installation by the end of The race to the bottom in international tenders is driving the solar
2020 is likely to influence this figure in the coming years. power price down to the extent that project developers might start
National or Local to bid at levels which speculate on further reductions in solar panel
costs, and in interest rates. Certainly, tender competition has, in
Depending on the country specifics, FiT can be defined at the some countries, resulted in the emergence of dive bidding and
national level (China, Japan, Germany, etc.) and at the regional what has been termed the “winner’s curse” whereby a successful
level (Australia, Canada, India, etc.) with some regions opting for bidder underbids in order to win the contract and then cannot
it and others not, or with different characteristics. FiT can also be deliver power at the agreed-upon price. Declining investment
granted by utilities themselves (Austria, Sweden and must also be considered in the context of interest rates, which
Switzerland), outside of the policy framework to increase determine the cost of capital used to finance solar projects, and
customers’ fidelity. which constitute a significant portion of total project costs.

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CHAPTER 3 POLICY FRAMEWORK

THE SUPPORT SCHEMES / CONTINUED

normal FiT. In several countries, a local content parameter has

Tenders been discussed and acts as an additional primary or secondary
Tenders have not yet shown their full potential. For the time key in the grant decision.
being, they are mostly used to frame PV development and PV In summary, FiT remains the most popular support scheme for all
costs. For regulators, this implies defining a maximum capacity sizes of grid-tied PV systems; from small household rooftops
and proposing the cheapest suitable plants to develop. However, applications to large utility-scale PV systems. The ease of
it could be developed further and be part of a larger, long-term, implementation continues to make it the most used regulatory
roadmap on power capacity development. By planning smartly, framework for PV globally.
together with transmission grid operators, tenders could allow to
develop specific capacities for defined technologies, optimize the FEED-IN PREMIUM
grid and plan smartly the energy transition. This principle could
In several countries, the FiT schemes are being replaced by feed-
also be applied to rooftop PV development.
in premiums. The concept behind the premium is to be paid in
addition to the wholesale electricity market price. Fixed and
variable premiums can be considered. In Germany and the
Netherlands, the remuneration of solar PV electricity is based on
Tenders have gained success in the entire world over the last
a variable Feed-in Premium (FiP) that is paid on top of the
years and Europe aligned with this trend while several countries
average electricity wholesale market price and Sweden is using a
adopted or reintroduced tenders. Several countries such as
fixed FiP for small decentralized systems. A so-called Contract for
France, Germany, Greece, Poland, Portugal, Estonia and Spain
Difference scheme is a FiP that ensures a constant remuneration
introduced or reintroduced tenders for different market segments,
by covering the difference between the expected remuneration
with France using it for some market segments (above 100 kW in
and the electricity market price.
a simplified version and above 250 kW in all cases), while
Germany is rather using it for utility-scale plants.
CORPORATE POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS
In the Middle East and North Africa, tenders were issued in Egypt,
Israel, Jordan, Morocco, South Africa and the UAE. In the rest While FiT are paid in general by official bodies or utilities, Power
of the world, many others have joined the list of countries using Purchase Agreements (PPAs) are becoming compulsory in some
calls for tenders to grant PPAs for PV plants. In Latin America, countries. In Chile, for instance, the PV plants built in the northern
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru, just to mention the desert of Atacama had to find PPAs with local industries in order
most visible, have implemented such tenders. In Asia, India, to be beneficial (even if the low prices are now pushing for PV
Nepal and Sri Lanka also started to launch tenders, while in electricity sold into the electricity market). Such plants can be
Southern Africa, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia and Malawi can be considered as competitive, since they rely on PPAs with private
cited amongst the newcomers. companies rather than official FiT schemes.
Tenders are often technology specific, however, technology Spain is probably leading the PPA market, if not worldwide, at
neutral tenders have been introduced in Denmark, Estonia, Italy, least in Europe. Over the last years, more and more bilateral
Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, UK and South Africa. In this PPAs were signed between producers and consumers. The
case, PV is put in competition with other generation sources. reduced LCOE allows new market segments development, more
Some countries such as France, Germany and Italy are recently unsubsidized PPAs also started to appear in Denmark,
experimenting with mixed auctions based on solar and wind in Germany, Italy and Sweden.
parallel with some technology specific tenders.
The USA and Australia are also markets were PPAs are gaining
Spain innovated with a tender based not on the energy prices or market shares. In California, many PPAs, sometimes with record
capacities, but on the level of support required. In this auction low prices, were approved over the last years. PPAs imply sourcing
process, bidders have to offer a discount on the standard value of of solar electricity without necessarily being physically connected
the initial investment of a reference plant. The lowest bid winning with the power plant, a solution favoured more and more by large
the tender up to a predefined capacity level is required. This companies willing to decrease their GHG emissions.
tender also has the particularity to be technology neutral but
welcomes only PV and wind.
RENEWABLE PORTFOLIO STANDARDS
Competitive tenders can be used to promote specific technologies AND GREEN CERTIFICATES
or impose additional constraints such as local manufacturing to
boost the local industry. This type of requirement has enabled the The regulatory approach commonly referred to as “Renewable
development of local solar panel manufacturing in some African Portfolio Standard” (RPS) aims at promoting the development of
countries such as Algeria, Morocco and South Africa. The FiT renewable energy sources by imposing a quota of RE sources.
payment can be adjusted to some parameters. Turkey, for The authorities define a share of electricity to be produced by
instance, applies a premium for local content, on the top of the renewable sources that all utilities must adopt, either by producing
themselves or by buying specific certificates on the market. When
IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 30
CHAPTER 3 POLICY FRAMEWORK

available, these certificates are sometimes called “green Outside of Europe, Japan was amongst the first countries to adopt
certificates” and allow renewable electricity producers to get a a carbon pricing in 2012. More recently, a national carbon-pricing
variable remuneration for their electricity, based on the market plan took effect in 2018 in Canada. Although the carbon pricing
price of these certificates. This system exists under various forms. framework is federal, each province and territory has
State incentives in the USA have been driven in large part by the implemented its own policy approach; these include both taxes
passage of Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS). An RPS, also and cap-and-trade mechanisms. China launched its own cap-and-
called a renewable electricity standard (RES), requires electricity trade carbon program in December 2017, the first phase of the
suppliers to purchase or generate a targeted amount of market only covers power generation. A carbon tax also came
renewable energy by a certain date. In Belgium’s regions, into effect in South Africa in June 2019.
Norway, Romania and Sweden, PV receives a specific number
The share of global GHG emissions covered by carbon prices initiatives
of these green certificates for each MWh produced. A multiplier
is now around 20%, with China and the EU as main contributors.
can be used for PV, depending on the segment and size to
differentiate the technology from other renewables. For example, In general, the conclusion of an agreement during the COP21 in
different multipliers are applied to floating PV and PV with storage Paris in 2015 has signalled the start of a potential new era for
batteries in Korea. In Belgium, all three regions use the trading of carbon free technologies and the need to accelerate the transition
green certificates for commercial and industrial segments. to a carbon-free electricity system. In this respect, PV would
Romania uses a quota system, too, which however experienced greatly benefit from a generalized carbon price, pushing CO2
a drop in the value of the green certificates in 2014. The UK was emitting technologies out of the market.
still using a system called ROC (Renewable Obligation Certificates)
for large-scale PV in 2015, but it was replaced in 2016.
Remarkably, Sweden and Norway share a joint, cross-border, SELF-CONSUMPTION AND NET-METERING
Green Electricity Certificate system. Given the rooftop potential, it seems logical that a part of the PV
future will come from its deployment on buildings, to provide
DIRECT SUBSIDIES AND TAX CREDITS electricity locally. The declining cost of PV electricity puts it in direct
competition with retail electricity provided by utilities through the
PV is characterized by limited maintenance costs, no fuel costs grid and several countries have already adopted schemes allowing
but high upfront investment. This has led some countries to put local consumption of electricity. These schemes are often referred
policies in place that reduce the upfront investment to incentivize to as self-consumption or net-metering schemes.
PV. Direct subsidies were implemented in countries such as
Austria, Australia, Canada, Finland, Italy, Japan, Korea, These schemes allow self-produced electricity to reduce the PV
Lithuania, Norway and Sweden just to mention a few. These system owner’s electricity bill, on site or even between distant
subsidies are, by nature, part of the government expenditures and sites (Mexico, Brazil, France). Various schemes exist that allow
are limited by their capacity to free up enough money. compensating electricity consumption and the PV electricity
production, some compensate real energy flows, while others are
Tax credits have been used in a large variety of countries, ranging compensating financial flows. While details may vary, the bases
from Belgium, Canada, Japan, France and others. Italy uses a are similar. The savings on the electricity bill can be decreased if
tax credit for small size plants. The debate was intense in the USA grid taxes or levies are to be paid on the self-consumed electricity.
in 2015 whether extending the ITC (Investment Tax Credit) or to Fixed or capacity-based grid tariffs can also have a detrimental
phase it out rapidly. Finally, the decision was taken to continue the effect on the revenues for the prosumers. These last years,
current scheme at least until the end of the decade. countries such as Germany or Belgium introduced taxes on solar
PV production for prosumers. These taxes where in most cases
fought in court as they constitute a retroactive cut for existing
“CARBON” TAXES
installations and were finally delayed or retrieved.
Some attempts have been made to impose carbon taxes to
While the self-consumption and net-metering schemes are based
support the development of renewables indirectly by putting a
on an energy compensation of electricity flows, other systems
price on the external cost of CO2 emitting technologies. The most
exist. Italy, through its Scambio Sul Posto (net-billing scheme),
important regulation has been the Emission Trading System in
attributes different prices to consumed electricity and the
Europe (ETS) which aims at putting a price on the ton of CO2. So
electricity fed into the grid. In Israel, the net-billing system works
far it has failed to really incentivize the development of PV or any
on a similar basis. One must be careful when looking at self-
other renewable source because of the low carbon price that
consumption schemes since the same vocabulary can imply
came out of the system. A Market Stability Reserve (MSR) has
different regulations depending on the case. In Canada, the
been introduced to reduce the surplus of emission allowances in
provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan have Net Billing
the carbon market and to improve the EU ETS's resilience to
systems whereas every other jurisdiction has some form of Net
future shocks. The EU will further reinforce this mechanism:
Metering in place. The best example is in the USA, with the
between 2019 and 2023, the amount of allowances put in the
wording “net-metering” being used for different self-consumption
reserve will double to 24% of the allowances in circulation and
schemes in different states.
other measured could be introduced in the coming years.
IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 31
CHAPTER 3 POLICY FRAMEWORK

THE SUPPORT SCHEMES / CONTINUED

To better compare existing and future self-consumption schemes, individual and collective self-consumption. Furthermore, the
the IEA PVPS published a comprehensive guide to analyse and Clean Energy Package introduces energy communities into
compare self-consumption policies. This “Review of PV Self- European legislation, which allow citizens to collectively
Consumption Policies” proposes a methodology to understand, organise their participation in the energy system. The
analyse and compare schemes that might be fundamentally European definitions provide guidelines for the implementation
diverse, sometimes under the same wording. It also proposes an in the members states, however, the details concerning the
analysis of the most important elements impacting the business perimeter and the limits to collective self-consumption for
models of all stakeholders, from grid operators to electric utilities. instance are being implemented at the national level.
Excess PV Electricity Exported to the Grid Concerning collective consumption behind the meter, the most
advanced legal frameworks have been implemented in France
Traditional self-consumption systems assume that the electricity
and the Netherlands. The “Mieterstromgesetz” or Tenant
produced by a PV system should be consumed immediately or
Electricity Law in Germany enables building owners to produce
within a 10-15 minutes time frame to be compensated. The PV
and sell electricity to their tenants which makes the investment
electricity not self-consumed is therefore injected into the grid.
more attractive. Spain and the UK have also implemented a
Several ways to value this excess electricity exist today: favourable framework for collective prosumers. Other countries
such as Belgium, Croatia, Italy and Portugal have introduced
• The lowest remuneration is 0: excess PV injected on the grid some definitions but are not yet fully implemented.
electricity is not remunerated.
In the USA, community microgrids are emerging to reduce the
• Excess electricity gets the electricity market price, with or cost of electricity consumption and provide local resilience through
without a bonus. storage and backup power. In Australia, Community-owned
• A FiT remunerates the excess electricity at a predefined price. Renewable Energy allows citizens to define and invest in
Depending on the country, this tariff can be lower or higher than renewable energy projects to transform their communities in some
the retail price of electricity. cases to zero-net emissions. In Korea, an energy self-sufficient
community in Seoul city has allowed its members to reduce its
• Price of retail electricity (net-metering), sometimes with energy costs through energy savings and PV installations.
additional incentives or additional taxes.
Delocalized or “Virtual” Self-Consumption
A net-metering system allows such compensation to occur during
a longer period, ranging from one month to several years, While self-consumption could be understood as the compensation
sometimes with the ability to transfer the surplus of consumption of production and consumption locally, decentralized (or “Virtual”)
or production to the next month(s). In Belgium, the system exists self-consumption expands to delocalized consumption and
for PV installations below 10 kW but will disappear in some production and opens a wide range of possibilities involving ad
regions in the coming years. In the USA, net-metering policies hoc grid tariffs. In that respect, prosumers at district level would
differ from state to state, consequently, the payoff time varies pay less grid costs than prosumers at regional or national level.
greatly. Several emerging PV countries have implemented net- Such policies are tested in some countries (Austria, the
metering schemes in recent years (Chile, Israel, Jordan, UAE Netherlands, France, Lithuania, Mexico, Switzerland, etc.).
(Dubai) and Tunisia). Some utilities even launched pilot projects before the regulations
were officially published (as in Austria or Switzerland). In this case,
PV Communities or Collective Self-Consumption innovative products are already mixing with PV installations, PV
Collective self-consumption allows to share electricity between investment and virtual storage. This evolution will be scrutinized
several users, in general behind the meter but also between in the coming years since it might open new market segments for
distinct individual buildings. Self-consumption in collective solar PV.
buildings or sites allows one or more production units to feed their Given the complex questions that such schemes create, especially
electricity to several consumers, using a predefined split key. The with regard to the use of the grid, the legal aspects related to
typical case concerns a multi-apartment building, with one single compensating electricity between several meters and the
PV plant feeding several or all consumers in the building. innovative aspect of the scheme, it is believed decentralized self-
While self-consumption is allowed in most European countries, consumption can ease the integration of PV into the energy
Europe has decided to go a step further with the transformation, support the development of smarter buildings and
comprehensive update of its energy policy - the Clean Energy accelerate the transition to electric vehicles.
for All Europeans package (“Clean Energy Package”). The The opportunities opened by such concepts are wide-ranging. For
European Union introduced new provisions on the energy instance, this could allow charging an electric vehicle at the office
market design and frameworks for new energy initiatives. with PV electricity produced at home, or sharing the PV electricity
Specifically, the actual recasts of the renewable energy in all public buildings in a small town between them depending on
directive (REDII) and the electricity market directive (EMDII) the consumption, or installing a utility-scale plant in the field
provide basic definitions and requirements for the activities of nearby a village to power it. Options are numerous and imply fair

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 32

CHAPTER 3 POLICY FRAMEWORK

remuneration of the grid to be competitive for all. Using PV The subsidy level for self-consumption has dropped from
electricity in a decentralized location implies the use of the public 0,32 CNY/kWh to 0,10 CNY/kWh, and the subsidy level for
grid, distribution or even transmission and would require putting a household photovoltaics has dropped from 0,32 CNY/kWh to
fair price on such use. With PV becoming competitive, such ideas 0,18 CNY/kWh.
emerge and could develop massively under the right regulations.
Denmark: Support measures for PV have so far mainly been
financed by the so-called Public Service Obligation (PSO)
COST OF SUPPORT SCHEMES administered by the state-owned TSO. The money involved was
collected as a small levy on every kWh sold. Following
discussions with the European Commission on the compliance of
The cost of these incentives can be supported through taxpayer’s the PSO scheme with EU state aid regulations it was decided in
money or, and this is the most common case, at least in Europe, 2016 to phase out the PSO scheme over some years and in the
through a specific levy on the electricity bill. In some countries, future use the state budget to provide the financing of eventual RE
energy intensive industrials or large consumers are exempted from support measures.
the levy for competitiveness reasons and to avoid carbon leakage.
France: Operator remuneration (through Feed-in PPA, Additional
In order to control the overall cost of the financial incentives, the remuneration -market premium-, bonuses, etc.) is paid to
budget available each year can be limited and, in that case, a first- operators by a designated Co-contractor (EDF, other authorised
come first-serve principle is applied. Most countries did not organisations or, in certain areas, local public distribution grid
impose a yearly cap on FiT expenditures in the past, which led to managers). The Co-contractor is compensated for over-costs
fast market development in Japan, China, Germany, Italy, Spain from a dedicated account in the national budget (Energy
and many others. Transition). This account is financed by a tax on petrol and its
derivatives when used as an energy source for transport or
Some specific examples: heating. Over-costs are calculated based on a typical production
Australia: Solar tenders come from a mix of state governments, curve weighting of monthly average daytime spot prices on the
local governments, electricity retailers, and the Australian national electricity market. The estimated total cost of
Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). Each has its own process compensation for 2019 for photovoltaic contracts (Feed-in tariffs
with varying funding mechanisms, the most common being PPAs and premiums) is 2 961,7 MEUR.
for energy generation or Renewable Energy Certificates or both. Germany: The EEG surcharge that covers the cost of all
In addition to state government tenders, corporations are running renewable sources is paid by all electricity consumers, with an
tenders for supply of electricity, known as Corporate PPAs. exemption for large industrial consumers. Since 2014, prosumers
Belgium: Green certificates have to be bought by utilities if they with systems above 10 kW are required to pay 40% of this levy on
don’t produce the required quotas of renewable electricity, which the electricity consumption coming from PV. End users must pay
make these costs transparent. However, when PV producers are the value added tax (19%) on this surcharge as well. The
not able to sell these certificates, they are bought by the contribution of PV is considered as small compared to wind in the
Transmission System Operator who re-invoices these to last year.
customers through their electricity bill. Italy: 2005-2013, Feed-in Premium/Feed-in Tariff (Conto Energia):
Canada: Each province and territory in Canada has different financial cap for PV of 6,7 BEUR in terms of yearly payments.
policy mechanisms for supporting solar PV. Ontario’s Renewable 2005–today, Scambio Sul Posto mechanism, first net-metering,
Energy Standard Offer Program (which closed to new entrants in from 2009 net-billing: no cap. 2019-today, new RES decree, Feed-
2008) and feed-in tariff programs (which closed to new entrants in in Premium/Feed-in Tariff: capacity cap in registries and auctions.
2016/2017) are directly funded by Ontario electricity consumers. 2020-today, self-consumption bonus for energy communities. All
In Alberta, eligible large-scale renewable energy generation these costs are covered by a component of the electricity tariff.
projects (including solar PV) can generate and sell compliance Japan: The surcharge to promote renewable energy power
credits under the province’s Technology Innovation and Emissions generation for a household was set at 2,9 JPY/kWh in April 2019
Reduction (TIER) carbon pricing program. There are currently and 2,95 JPY/kWh from May 2019 to April 2020. High-volume
several different federal, provincial and municipal grant programs electricity users such as manufacturers are entitled to reduce the
providing rebates for the capital cost of behind-the-meter solar PV surcharge. The amount of purchased electricity generated by PV
systems; these are funded through general revenue. systems under the FIT program is around 261,9 TWh as of the end
China: In 2019, the price and subsidy of photovoltaic power of December 2019, approaching 10,3 TJPY in total.
generation continued to decline, and at the same time, the Korea: The cost of PV incentives in Korea is mainly covered by
mechanism was changed. The original benchmark price was the central and regional governments (taxpayers). Some costs are
changed to a guide price, which is the upper limit of competitive covered by the 21 RPS obligators indirectly affecting the electricity
allocation projects. In 2019, the guide price levels of I, II and III prices (Government controls the electricity price).
resource areas are 0,4 CNY/kWh, 0,45 CNY/kWh, 0,55 CNY/kWh.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 33

CHAPTER 3 POLICY FRAMEWORK

COST OF SUPPORT SCHEMES / CONTINUED

Malaysia: The FiT scheme is supported by the Renewable Energy INNOVATIVE BUSINESS MODELS
(RE) fund contributed by electricity consumers. Consumers with
electricity consumption of more than 300 kWh per month are
obliged to contribute additional charge of 1,6% of their electricity Until recently, a large part of the PV market was based on
bill to the RE fund. The RE fund is managed by the Authority to traditional business models based on the ownership of the PV
support the renewable energy developers who invest in PV, small plant. For rooftop applications, it was rather obvious that the PV
hydro, biomass, and biogas resources to generate electricity. The system owner was the owner of the building. However, the high
NEM and LSS schemes are supported by a passthrough upfront capacity requirements are pushing different business
mechanism to the consumer tariffs. models to develop, especially in the USA, and to a certain extent
in some European countries. PV-as-a-service contributes
Spain: Specific remuneration system for renewables is financed
significantly to the USA's residential market for instance, with the
through charges in the electricity tariff. Grant subsidies and other
idea that PV could be sold as a service contract, not implying the
programs such as MOVES for alternative mobility are financed at
ownership or the financing of the installation. These business
least partially with funds from the European Regional
models could deeply transform the PV sector in the coming years,
Development Fund of the EU. Local taxes exemptions are
with their ability to include PV in long term contracts, reducing the
financed by the municipalities.
uncertainty for the contractor. Such business models represent
USA: The ITC tax break is borne by the federal budget indirectly already more than 50% of the residential market in the USA, and
(since the budget is not used but it represents rather a decrease some utilities in Germany, Austria, Sweden and Switzerland are
of the potential income from PV development costs). Beside starting to propose them, as we will see below. However, the US
federal benefits, solar project developers can rely on other state case is innovative by the existence of pure players proposing PV
and local incentives, which come in many forms, including—but (such as SolarCity, Sunrun, etc.) as their main product. Since it
not limited to—up-front rebates, performance-based incentives, solves many questions related to financing and operations, as well
state tax credits, renewable energy certificate (REC) payments, as reducing the uncertainty on the long term for the prosumer, it
property tax exemptions, and low-interest loans. Incentives at is possible that such services will develop in the near future, along
both the federal and state levels vary by sector and by size (utility with the necessary developments which will push up the
scale or distributed). distributed PV.
Similarly, the pay-as-you-go financial models have been very
SOFT COSTS successful for the deployment of Solar Home Systems (SHS) and
solar kits in African countries in the past years and are expected
to further drive the development of PV in the residential and off-
Financial support schemes have not always succeeded in starting grid segments. Pay-as-you-go models are directly inspired from
the deployment of PV in a country. Several examples of well- prepaid mobile payment schemes; the users pay a monthly fee or
designed support systems have been proven unsuccessful according to its needs and owns the solar kit when enough credits
because of inadequate and costly administrative barriers. have been paid.
Progress has been noted in most countries in the last years, with
a streamlining of permit procedures, with various outcomes. The
lead time could not only be an obstacle to fast PV development GRID INTEGRATION
but also a risk of increased costs to compensate for legal and
administrative costs.
With the share of PV electricity growing in the electricity system
Soft costs remain high in several countries, but prices have of several countries, the question of the integration to the
started to go down in some key markets, such as Japan or the electricity grid is becoming more acute. In some countries
USA. In these two markets for instance, system prices for temporary or permanent curtailment rules have been devised to
residential systems continue to be significantly higher than prices avoid grid reinforcement or to avoid grid congestion in the
in key European markets. While the reason could be that installers meantime. In China, the adequacy of the grid remains one
adapt to the existing incentives, it seems to be more a important question that pushed the government to favour more
combination of various reasons explaining why final system prices the development of decentralized PV in the future rather than
are not converging faster in some key markets. Moreover, it large utility-scale power plants.
seems that additional regulations in some countries tend to
It is interesting to note that many transmission system operators
increase the soft costs compared to the best cases. This will have
are increasing the penetration of PV in their scenarios and try to
to be scrutinized in the coming years to avoid eating up the gains
assess the impact of such developments. In 2019, RTE, France’s
from components price decrease.
TSO has issued a clear assessment of the positive effect of massive
PV development on generation adequacy during the morning peak
while it concluded that the balancing costs for several dozen of GW
of PV in the French network would have negligible costs while high-

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 34

CHAPTER 3 POLICY FRAMEWORK

voltage grid reinforcements costs would amount to significantly less financing of grid operators was stopped by the courts and then
than 1 EURcent per kWh in France. Such scenarios and reintroduced. While these taxes were cancelled later, they reveal
calculations have been done by many TSOs and show how a concern from grid operators who see their income model
important PV development starts to become. diminishing. In Germany, the debate that started in 2013 about
whether prosumers should pay an additional tax was finally
concluded. The EEG surcharge is paid partially on self-consumed
GRID CODES
electricity. In Israel, the net-billing system is accompanied by grid-
By submitting PV applications to stricter grid codes and management fees to compensate the back-up costs and the
regulations, connecting PV systems to the grid becomes more balancing costs. In general, several regulators in Europe are
complex and therefore more costly. The increased need to expected to introduce capacity-based tariffs rather than energy-
provide ancillary services to the grid, including frequency based tariffs for grid costs. This could change the landscape in
response for instance, and curtailment, changes the nature of the which PV is playing for rooftop applications and delay its
connection for the PV system and can increase prices or reduce competitiveness in some countries.
revenues. This influences the competitiveness of PV solutions.
Grid codes have been reviewed in the European Union in an
attempt of grid code harmonisation between member states and SUSTAINABLE BUILDING
will lead to additional constraints for PV systems. In Australia,
specific grid codes have been adapted for PV and more will come. REQUIREMENTS & BIPV
In Mexico, specific grid requirements have in some cases be
The building sector has a major role to play in PV development
imposed to bidders in tendering processes. In any case, grid
and sustainable building regulations drive PV’s deployment in
integration policies will become an important subject in the
countries where the competitiveness of PV is close. These
coming years, with the need to regulate PV installations in densely
regulations include requirements for new building developments
equipped areas.
(residential and commercial) but also, in some cases, on
properties for sale. PV may be included in a suite of options for
GRID COSTS AND TAXES reducing the energy footprint of the building or specifically
mandated as an inclusion in the building development.
Grid costs are another essential element, which deals with PV
competitiveness, especially for distributed PV applications under In Korea, the NRE Mandatory Use for Public Buildings
self-consumption. Since the competitiveness of the solution Programme imposes on new public institution buildings with floor
depends on the ability to reduce the electricity bill of the areas exceeding 1 000 square meters to source more than 10% of
consumer, the grid costs might affect the outcome tremendously. their energy consumption from new and renewable sources. In
In particular, several countries discuss the shift of grid costs from Belgium, Flanders introduced a similar measure since 2014. The
an energy-based structure towards a capacity-based structure: first results show that PV is chosen in more than 85% of the new
this would affect significantly the profitability of distributed PV buildings. In Denmark, the national building code has integrated
plants if all grid costs would have to be paid, even with large PV to reduce the energy footprint. In all member states of the
shares of the energy produced on site. The reason behind this European Union, the new Energy Performance in Buildings
originates from the loss of incomes of grid operators who to see Directive (EPBD) will impose to look for ways to decrease the local
their revenues and therefore their capacity to invest and maintain energy consumption in buildings, which could favour
the grid, being reduced significantly if prosumers or semi- decentralized energy sources, among which PV appears to be the
independent energy communities would become the new normal. most developed one, from 2020 onwards.
The example of decentralized self-consumption indicates how Two concepts should be distinguished here:
important it will be for the grids to know their real costs and
• Near Zero Energy Buildings (reduced energy consumption but
invoice prosumers with a fair tariff depending on the real use of
still a negative balance);
the grids. The changing electricity landscape with the fast
development of electric mobility in several countries, the • Positive Energy Buildings (buildings producing more energy
development of distributed storage and the expected than what they consume).
electrification of heating, would deserve a long-term analysis to
find the right balance between the different incentives that grid These concepts will influence the use of PV systems on building in
tariffs ultimately provide. a progressive way now that competitiveness has improved in
many countries.
The opposition from utilities and in some cases grid operators
grew significantly against net-metering schemes. While some BIPV support policies have been quite popular a few years ago,
argue that the benefits of PV for the grid and the utilities cover the especially in Italy and France where they led to massive
additional costs, others are pledging in the opposite direction. In installations, with almost 5 GW of cumulative installations in these
Belgium, the attempt of adding a grid tax to maintain the level of two countries. Since then, their level has been massively reduced

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 35

CHAPTER 3 POLICY FRAMEWORK

SUSTAINABLE BUILDING
REQUIREMENTS & BIPV / CONTINUED

and few countries now apply BIPV policies with dedicated France organized several solar tenders with storage between
incentives outside of China, Korea and Switzerland. Past policies 2011 and 2017 in its islands: Corsica (15 MW), Reunion and
supported the use of conventional PV modules for simplified BIPV Mayotte (17,5 MW), Guadeloupe, French Guiana and Martinique,
installations, which led to abuses and more constraints in BIPV Saint Barthelemy and Saint Martin (17,5 MW). In 2020, a tender
policies. Since then, the development of more constraining BAPV has been launched to provide low carbon flexibility for the grid,
policies imposes, in some cases, higher constraints to BIPV around two-thirds of the selected projects are based on storage,
development. An example is the limit at 100 kW for non-tendered the rest on load shifting.
applications in France which would impose de facto on BIPV to
Japan is as well trying to increase the numbers of projects to
compete with BAPV and lead in all cases to the choice of BAPV
install storage batteries but with still limited subsidies. In the past
for systems above 100 kW. Since BIPV targets building surfaces,
years storage batteries for residential applications were part of a
limits are defined by the surface, rather than electricity
subsidy program to accelerate the development of net zero
consumption choices only. This will definitively limit BIPV
energy houses.
development in such cases in the coming years. The lack of
financial incentives reduces the attractiveness of BIPV which did Since 2016, Korea’s government incentivizes energy storage
not benefit as BAPV did of the tremendous price decrease linked systems (ESS) for peak-load reduction. Consumers can get
to its massive development. maximum 50% savings in their electricity use under the current
scheme. The government also provides a very attractive REC
weighting factor for PV power with ESS system. It is a temporary
ELECTRICITY STORAGE subsidy and it will be decreased in 2020.
Some consider that storage development for PV electricity will be
In the current stage of development, electricity storage remains to massively realized through electric vehicles connected to the grid
be incentivized to develop. While some iconic actors are during a large part of the day and therefore, will be able to store
proposing trendy batteries, the real market remains more and deliver energy to consumers at a larger scale than simple
complex and largely uncompetitive without financial support. batteries. This vehicle-to-grid or V2G concepts are being explored
and tested in several countries, with the Netherlands,
Up to 2018, the market was still limited to some specific countries
Switzerland and Japan as front-runners.
that have implemented specific incentives such as Australia and
Germany. However, the cost of storage is pursuing its steep
decline and storage is becoming more attractive in a growing
number of markets. Amongst the countries that have issued laws
to incentivize battery storage in PV systems to 2019, Austria and
Italy have introduced a tax rebate (storage coupled with small PV
plants) and some cantons in Switzerland have subsidy schemes.
In region of Flanders, Belgium, a temporary rebate has been
granted for the purchase of batteries.
In Germany, soft loans and capital grant covering up to 25% of the
eligible solar PV panel were offered between 2016 and 2018 and
the programme has been prolonged until 2020. In Sweden, the
government has introduced a direct capital subsidy for energy
storage owned by private households which led to a total battery
capacity of 6 362 kWh installed in 2019. In the USA, several
states, including California, provide rebates for qualifying
distributed energy systems.
In 2017, the National Development and Reform Commission of
China published the “Guidance opinion on promotion of energy
storage technological and industrial development”. The document
called for development of power storage to promote pilot
renewable energy applications, support the grid, and allow the
participation of power storage in the auxiliary service market.
China is a key global manufacturer of Li-Ion batteries and its
electric vehicles markets is the largest in the world.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 36

CHAPTER 3 POLICY FRAMEWORK

TABLE 3.1: OVERVIEW OF SUPPORT SCHEMES IN SELECTED IEA PVPS COUNTRIES

SUSTAINABLE BUILDING
COLLECTIVE & VIRTUAL

STORAGE INCENTIVES
SELF- CONSUMPTION

SELF- CONSUMPTION
FEED-IN PREMIUM

BIPV INCENTIVES
NET-METERING /
TAX INCENTIVES

REQUIREMENTS
DIRECT CAPITAL

FEED-IN TARIF /

EV INCENTIVES
CERTIFICATES
RPS / GREEN
NET-BILLING
SUBSIDIES
COUNTRY

AUSTRALIA
• • • • • • •
AUSTRIA
• • • • • • • • • •
BELGIUM
• • • • • • • • •
CANADA
• • • • • • • •
CHILE
• • •
CHINA
• • • • • •
DENMARK
• • • •
FINLAND
• • • • • • •
FRANCE
• • • • • •
GERMANY
• • • • •
ISRAEL
• • • • • • •
ITALY
• • • • • • • • •
JAPAN
• • • • • • • • •
KOREA
• • • • • • •
MALAYSIA
• • • •
MEXICO
• • • •
MOROCCO
• •
NETHERLANDS
• • • • • • •
NORWAY
• • • •
PORTUGAL
• • • • • • •
SPAIN
• • • • •
SWEDEN
• • • • • • • • • • • •
THAILAND
• • •
SWITZERLAND
• • • • • • • • • • • • • •
TURKEY
• • • •
USA
• • • • • • • •
Distributed PV applications
Centralized PV applications

SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 37

THREE // CHAPTER 3 POLICY FRAMEWORK
© Energyra

four
TRENDS IN THE
PV INDUSTRY

This chapter provides an overview of the evolution of the PV The price of PV modules (spot price of mc-Si PV module) has
manufacturing industry during 2019. It is mainly about the not significantly changed throughout 2019, going down to
upstream sector. So, it deals with the production of PV materials 21,5 USD cents/W at the end of the year compared to
(feedstock, ingots, blocks/bricks and wafers), PV cells, PV 22 USD cents/W at the beginning of the year. This has contributed to
modules and balance-of-system (BOS) components (inverters, the reduction of initial capital costs for the installation of PV systems,
mounting structures, charge regulators, storage batteries, as well as the LCOE. However, suppliers of PV modules continue
appliances, etc.). The downstream sector is also briefly investing in increasing their manufacturing capacity with new
presented, including both project development, Operation and technologies. The current level of revenue structure seems to further
Maintenance (O&M). More detailed information about the PV accelerate the consolidation of the upstream sector. PV module
industry corresponding to each IEA PVPS member country can manufactures need to shift from “competition of manufacturing cost
be found in the relevant National Survey Reports. and lower price” to “competition of performance and reliability”.
While the global installed PV capacity increased to 115 GW in As in previous years, trade conflicts have impacted the location of
2019, the production and production capacity of polysilicon, production sites. An increase in PV module production volume
ingots, wafers, PV cells and modules increased at a higher pace and capacity was reported in 2019 in the USA, which has
than the growth of the installed capacity, as in 2018 . China has implemented safeguard measures.
remained the world’s largest producer and consumer of PV cells
and modules. The trends of the Chinese PV market have played
significant roles on the global PV supply and demand. The gap
between the demand and the production capacity has contributed
to further price reductions across the PV value chain from
THE UPSTREAM PV SECTOR
polysilicon to PV modules. The price competitions and thinner
margins continue to drive the consolidation of the industry’s This section reviews some trends in the value chain of crystalline
upstream sector. silicon (c-Si) and thin-film PV technologies. While a PV system
Major PV manufacturers have continued to invest in new consists of various manufacturing processes and materials as shown
technologies and the enhancement of production capacities. 2019 in Figure 4.1, this section focuses on the key trends of polysilicon,
is the first year in which the share of single crystalline silicon (sc- ingot/wafer/cells and PV modules (c-Si and thin-film PV).
Si, also known as mono-crystalline silicon) has surpassed that of
multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si). The cause comes from an increase POLYSILICON PRODUCTION
in the demand for higher conversion efficiencies and higher
outputs. Major companies commercialized >500 W or >600 W PV The wafer-based c-Si technology dominates the PV cells
modules using various technologies, including larger wafer sizes. production. In that respect, this section focuses on the wafer-based
production path. Although some IEA PVPS countries reported the
production of feedstock, ingots and wafers, the figures from the
IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 38
CHAPTER 4 TRENDS IN THE PV INDUSTRY

FIGURE 4.1: PV SYSTEM VALUE CHAIN (EXAMPLE OF CRYSTALLINE SILICON PV TECHNOLOGY)

SILICON FEEDSTOCK

CAST SILICON FURNACE WAFER DOPING MATERIAL

MONO-CRYSTALLINE Si
SINGLE CRYSTAL GROWING FURNACE QUARTZ CRUCIBLE
MULTI-CRYSTALLINE Si
SLICING EQUIPMENT WIRE (FOR WIRE SAW SLICING)
ABRASIVE GRAIN, SLURRY (FOR WIRE SAW SLICING)
TEXTURE TREATMENT EQUIPMENT
DIFFUSION FURNACE ETCHING & TEXTURING SOLUTION
DEPOSITION EQUIPMENT CELL ANTIREFLECTIVE FILM
SCREEN PRINTING EQUIPMENT METALLIZATION MATERIAL
FIRING FURNACE
TEDLAR/PET
EVA
LAMINATOR MODULE INTERCONNECTOR
WHITE TEMPERED GLASS
ALUMINUM FRAME
JUNCTION BOX

INVERTER
BATTERY
MOUNT STRUCTURE
EQUIPMENT FOR GRID CONNECTION
VARIOUS TYPES OF LOAD, DEPENDING ON APPLICATIONS
DESIGN, INSTALLATION TECHNOLOGIES

PV SYSTEM

SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.

National Survey Reports corresponding to the PV industry supply Thanks to the improvement of the conversion efficiency of PV
chain are not always complete. In such cases, external sources cells and modules and the efforts to reduce the use of silicon, as
have been used to fill out the missing information. for example by wafer thinning; the amount of polysilicon used for
1 W of wafer (consumption unit of polysilicon) has been
The global polysilicon production (including semiconductor
decreasing year after year. It is estimated that an average of
grade polysilicon) in 2019 was 507 500 tonnes. The polysilicon
3,9 g/W of polysilicon were used for a solar cell in 2018.
production for solar cells increased to approx. 469 000 tonnes in
It decreased to an average of 3,2 g/W in 2019. Compared to the
2019, up by 23 000 tonnes from 446 000 tonnes in 2018. The
6,8 g/W which were required in 2010, the consumption unit of
polysilicon production for semiconductors increased from approx.
polysilicon decreased at a pace of 8% annually.
34 000 tonnes in 2018 to approx. 38 500 tonnes in 2019. The
production volume of polysilicon for solar cells accounted for The spot price of polysilicon varies depending on the market
about 92,4% of the total production of polysilicon in 2019. developments, basically in accordance with purity, 9N for mc-Si
and 11N for sc-Si solar cells. At the beginning of 2019, 9N
An increase in the global polysilicon production capacity was
polysilicon spot price was 9 USD/kg level, and it kept decreasing
observed in 2019, as in the previous year. At the end of 2019, the
throughout the year due to a drop in demand for mc-Si wafers. At
global polysilicon production capacity was 712 000 tonnes/year
the end of December 2019, 9N polysilicon and 11N polysilicon
with new additions of about 73 000 tonnes/year compared to the
dropped to 7,18 USD/kg and 8,58 USD/kg, respectively.
end of 2018 (638 999 tonnes/year). The total production capacity
of six major Tier 12 manufacturers in 2019 amounted to about 334 In the first half of year 2020, the polysilicon price continued to
000 tonnes/year, up from 333 000 tonnes/year in 2018. decrease due to the stagnation of the PV market caused by
This accounts for about 47% of the global production capacity. COVID-19. The reported spot price of polysilicon, as of the end of
As the investment to enhance production capacity continues, June 2020, was 6,19 USD/kg. In July, two polysilicon plants in
the total global production capacity is expected to reach
2 Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) defines Tier 1 module manufacturers as those which
799 000 tonnes/year by the end of 2020. have provided own-brand, own-manufacture products to six different projects, which have been
financed non-recourse by six different (non-development) banks, in the past two years.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 39

CHAPTER 4 TRENDS IN THE PV INDUSTRY

THE UPSTREAM PV SECTOR / CONTINUED

China stopped production due to fire accidents. Another

polysilicon plant in China also stopped production due to failures FIGURE 4.2: SHARE OF PV POLYSILICON PRODUCTION
of electricity facilities caused by heavy rain. The temporary price IN 2019
increase of polysilicon was observed in the 3Q 2020. How long
this situation will continue remains to be seen. However, it is OTHER, 3%
MALAYSIA, 2%
assumed that the price would bounce back with the recovery and USA, 6%

the addition of new production capacity.

SOUTH KOREA, 10%
Most of the major polysilicon manufacturers implement the
Siemens process, which is a technology developed for the
CHINA, 68%
semiconductor industry. Some companies adopt the fluidized bed GERMANY, 11%

reactor process (FZB) to manufacture granular polysilicon. The

production efficiency has improved and the reported energy
consumption of the reduction process is 50 kWh/kg. The slight
increase of 1kWh/kg from the energy consumption in 2018, which
was 49 kWh/kg, is caused by this year’s higher demand of high
purity polysilicon for sc-Si. An energy consumption below
SOURCE IEA PVPS, RTS CORPORATION.
40 kWh/kg has been reported by reduction processes applying
advanced technologies. The energy consumption of the whole
polysilicon production process decreased from 71 kWh/kg in 2018 Germany and Malaysia. The second largest polysilicon producing
to 70 kWh/kg in 2019. The decrease in electricity consumption country is Germany, followed by South Korea.
related to the reduction process has been achieved thanks to the
Germany has a domestic polysilicon production capacity
following efforts: 1) the development and commercialization of
of over 60 000 tonnes/year. Wacker Chemie possesses a
large-scale reduction furnaces; 2) the improvement of the
production capacity of 60 000 tonnes/year in Germany and
furnace’s inner wall materials; 3) the replacement of conventional
80 000 tonnes/year globally, including the US factory in
silicon tube with silicon core and 4) an adjustment of gas mixtures.
Tennessee, USA. Wacker shipped about 58 000 tonnes of
It is claimed that electricity consumption can be further reduced
polysilicon in 2019, a slight drop from 60 000 tonnes of 2018.
by optimizing the process and by the economy of scale, this
should contribute to the reduction of polysilicon price. South Korea reported 82 000 tonnes/year of polysilicon production
capacity in 2019. The country’s largest polysilicon manufacturer
The FBR process requires less electricity than the Siemens
OCI acquired the Malaysian polysilicon factory (27 000 tonnes/year)
process and produces granular polysilicon that can be efficiently
from Tokuyama (Japan) in May 2017 and almost doubled its
packed in the crucibles with polysilicon blocks. Some
Malaysian production capacity from 13 800 tonnes/year to
manufacturers reported their efforts on the production of granular
27 000 tonnes/year. It is estimated that the company produced
silicon due to its cost advantage. In 2019, an improvement of the
some 52 000 tonnes of polysilicon in 2019. The lower polysilicon
polysilicon purity produced by the FBR process was reported.
price affected the business of South Korean companies. In February
In 2019 the demand for sc-Si increased, boosting the demand for 2020, OCI announced to stop production of solar-grade polysilicon
higher purity products. We expect to see a higher share of higher in South Korea and focus on semiconductor-grade product while
purity products. Some manufacturers reported that around 90% of continuing to produce solar-grade polysilicon in Malaysia in
their production was oriented for sc-Si. Polysilicon manufacturers, February 2020. Hanwha Solutions also decided to withdraw from
which were mainly focused on solar-grade polysilicon, pushed by the polysilicon production in February 2020.
low-price level and the thinner margins in the industry, are seeking to
In the USA, major polysilicon manufacturers are Hemlock
enter the semiconductor grade polysilicon market for higher profits.
Semiconductor, REC Silicon and Wacker Chemie. In 2019, the
As in the previous year, in 2019 the major solar-grade polysilicon USA had a 34 000 tonnes/year of polysilicon production capacity
producing countries, among IEA PVPS countries, were China, South including the Tennessee Factory of Wacker Chemie. However, the
Korea, Germany, USA, Malaysia and Norway. China continued to polysilicon production in the USA is on a decreasing trend due to
be the largest producer and consumer of polysilicon in the world. the 57% anti-dumping duties (AD) imposed on the US made
Figure 4.2 shows the share of polysilicon production by country. polysilicon by China. Accordingly, in May 2019, REC Silicon
announced that it would temporarily stop production of FBR-
China reported that its manufacturing capacity increased to based polysilicon at its Moses Lake Factory in Washington, USA.
452 000 tonnes/year in 2019 from 388 000 tonnes/year in 2018
and produced 344 673 tonnes in 2019, accounting for 68% of the Canada, USA and Norway reported activities of polysilicon
global production. In China, top six companies, GCL Poly, Tongwei, manufacturers adopting metallurgical process aiming at lowering
TBEA, Daqo, East Hope and Asia Silicon account for 84% of the production cost. Silicor Materials (USA) owns a factory in
production and an oligopoly was more visible in 2019. China’s Canada and is reportedly building a manufacturing factory in
imports of polysilicon decreased with a similar trend as the Iceland. Elkem Solar in Norway is estimated to have produced
previous year. Most of the imports were from South Korea, approx. 6 500 tonnes of polysilicon in 2019.
IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 40
CHAPTER 4 TRENDS IN THE PV INDUSTRY

INGOTS & WAFERS

FIGURE 4.3: SHARE OF PV WAFERS PRODUCTION IN 2019
To produce sc-Si ingots or mc-Si ingots, the basic input material
consists of highly purified polysilicon. The ingots need to be cut into
bricks or blocks and then sawn into thin wafers. There are two types OTHER, 4%
of conventional silicon ingots: sc-Si ingots and mc-Si ingots. The first
type is also produced for microelectronics applications, although
with different specifications depending on the purity and specific
dopants; while mc-Si ingots are only used in the PV industry.
Ingot manufacturers are, in many cases, also wafer manufacturers. In CHINA, 96%

addition to major ingot/wafer manufacturers, some PV cell/module

manufacturers also partly manufacture silicon ingots and wafers for
their in-house uses. Due to the cost pressure, some of these major
PV module manufacturers that established vertically integrated
manufacturing are shifting to procuring wafers from specialized
manufacturers because of the cost and quality advantages.
SOURCE IEA PVPS, RTS CORPORATION.
It is estimated that about 142 GW of c-Si wafers were produced in
2019. It was an increase of 23,5% compared to 2018 with 115 GW.
The wafer production capacity as of 2019 is estimated to be about In 2019, the global shares of sc-Si wafer and mc-Si wafer were
185 GW/year, a 19% increase compared to 2018 with 156 GW/year. 35,5% and 64,5%, respectively.
As for wafers, major manufacturers announced the continuation of In 2019, it was notable that larger sized wafers were adopted for
the enhancement of their production capacities. By the end of 2020, higher output PV modules. For sc-Si wafers, the conventional size
the global production capacity may exceed 200 GW/year. of 6 inch (156 mm x 156 mm, also called M0) wafers has been
It is notable that, due to the demand for higher efficiency PV replaced by 156,75 mm x 156,75 mm size (also called M2). In
modules, the production capacity and the volume for mc-Si 2019, M2 products account for 61% of the wafer production.
wafers decreased while they increased for sc-Si wafers. Several wafer sizes are used in 2019 for solar cell production:

As shown in Figure 4.3, China has more than 95% of the global • 158, 75 mm x 158,75 mm (G1),
production share of wafers. According to a report by the Silicon • 163,75 mm x 163,75 mm,
Branch of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, the
wafer production in China in 2019 was 136 GW. As previously • 166 mm x 166 mm (M6),
mentioned, a shift to sc-Si technology was observed in China. In
• 182 mm x 182 mm (M10), and
2018, the share of mc-Si in total wafer production was 41% and it
dropped to 27% in 2019. According to the China Photovoltaic • 210 mm x 210 mm (M12).
Industry Association (CPIA), sc-Si wafers will account for more
According to CPIA, the share of the 158,75 mm x 158,75mm (G1)
than 80% of c-Si wafers produced in China.
or larger sized wafers will be increased in 2020 and later. In the
As for other IEA PVPS member countries, production capacities first half of 2020, it is reported that the G1 wafers account for more
in South Korea and Japan remain small compared to China. than 50% of the production in China. The commercialization or
Malaysia, Norway and the USA also reported ingot/wafer prototype manufacturing of PV modules using M12 wafers started
production activities. Besides IEA PVPS member countries, in 2019. The adoption of larger wafer sizes for the cell and module
Taiwan is a major manufacturer of wafers for solar cells with production remains an open topic requiring a close observation.
about 10 companies including PV module manufacturers There are issues such as failures caused by mechanical wafer
producing wafers, and the total production capacity is over strength, logistics of large sized PV modules and heavier weight
6,5 GW/year. In Singapore, REC Solar of Norway owns the for handling. Standardization is also required for the further cost
production capacity of about 1 GW/year. reduction in PV cell and module production processes. In July
2020, seven major companies such as JA Solar, JinkoSolar and
The spot price of c-Si wafer decreased further in 2019, following
Longi proposed to use M10 wafers as a standard size.
three factors: the price reduction of polysilicon; the cost reduction
by the introducing diamond wire saws; as well as the strategic In 2019, Ga-doped wafers attracted attention as a solution for light
price reduction by major manufacturers. At the beginning of 2019, induced degradation (LID) caused by B-O (boron-oxide) complex.
the price of mc-Si and sc-Si wafers were 0,274 USD/wafer and Ga-doped wafers can reduce the degradation ratio of PV modules
0,39 USD/wafer, respectively. The price reduction of mc-Si wafers and offer better warranty conditions. Several PV manufacturers
was significant due to the slowing demand. The price gap adopted this technology. Thus, it is expected that the share of Ga-
between the two technologies widened throughout the year. In doped wafers will increase in the future.
December 2019, spot price of mc-Si wafer was 0,183 USD/wafer
while sc-Si wafer price level was 0,369 USD/wafer.
IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 41
CHAPTER 4 TRENDS IN THE PV INDUSTRY

THE UPSTREAM PV SECTOR / CONTINUED

Several activities were reported in 2019 outside of China, although As shown in Figure 4.4, China’s solar cell production volume
with a smaller the production scale. In Norway, NorSun accounts for 76,5% of the total global production. The global solar
announced the expansion of its n-type sc-Si wafer production cell production capacity reached 221 GW/year, particularly
capacity from 450 MW/year to 1 GW/year. In Spain, Aurinka thanks to the enhancement of production capacity in China.
Photovoltaic announced the start-up of their wafer production by According to CPIA, China has more than 20 companies with a
the end of 2020. In Turkey, Kalyon Solar Technologies established capacity above 2 GW/year.
a PV manufacturing plant including the wafer process with
The countries besides China which reported production of solar
500 MW/year. In India, wafer manufacturing is planned by several
cells are Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, India, USA, and
companies as a part of their PV manufacturing plans, combined
Thailand. Malaysia has approx. 12 GW/year of solar cell
with the utility scale projects rights.
production capacity and produced nearly 8,8 GW of solar cells
Startup companies in the USA and Europe are developing (c-Si and CdTe thin-film). Major PV manufacturers including
kerfless technologies to manufacture wafers without using JinkoSolar (China), LONGi Green Energy Technology (China),
conventional ingot growth or wire-sawing processes. 1366 Hanwha Q CELLS (Korea), JA Solar (China), SunPower (USA),
Technologies (USA) announced in February 2019 that the and First Solar (USA) have factories in Malaysia. About 6,3 GW
company will establish a mass production factory in Cyberjaya, of solar cells were produced in South Korea. In the USA, solar
Malaysia, to manufacture wafers by applying direct wafer cell production is mainly conducted by First Solar with CdTe thin-
technology, which directly processes wafers from molten film PV technology. Major non-IEA PVPS countries
polysilicon, in partnership with Hanwha Q CELLS (Korea) and manufacturing solar cells are Taiwan, Philippines, Singapore,
Hanwha Q CELLS Malaysia (Malaysia). 1366 technologies India, and Vietnam. However, the production capacity of
announced that it achieved 20,3% of conversion efficiency with a Taiwan, which ranks second in production volume following
PERC solar cell using its kerfless wafers directly processed from China, is about 13 GW/year level, which indicates that China’s
molten polysilicon. In December 2019, 1366 Technologies raised presence is further increasing both in terms of production
18 million USD. Other companies working on new technologies capacity and production volume. Thailand and Vietnam are not
are Leading Edge Crystal Technologies (USA), Crystal Solar subject to the safeguard tariffs by the USA and the production
(USA), and NexWafe (Germany). capacities are increasing in these countries. As of 2019, Thailand
and Vietnam have the solar cell production capacity of
2,6 GW/year and over 5 GW/year, respectively.
SOLAR CELL AND MODULE PRODUCTION
The demand for high-efficiency solar cells increases continuously,
The global solar cell (c-Si and thin-film solar cell) production in
as for c-Si solar cells. In 2019, the share of PERC technology
2019 is estimated at around 144 GW, that is a 14% increase from
reached more than 65% in c-Si technology while the conventional
2018 (116 GW). China produced 110 GW of solar cells in 2019, a
BSF technology share dropped to 31,5%. The efficiency of PERC
29% increase from the previous year (85 GW in 2018), maintaining
products has improved. In the first half of 2020, reported average
its position as the world’s largest solar cells manufacturer. China
efficiency of mc-Si PERC cells using black silicon and sc-Si PERC
has been expanding its production capacity. Its solar cell
cell are 20,6% and 22,4 to 22,5%.
production capacity was about 164 GW/year in 2019.

FIGURE 4.4: SHARE OF PV CELLS PRODUCTION IN 2019 FIGURE 4.5: SHARE OF PV MODULES PRODUCTION IN 2019

OTHER, 8% OTHER, 9%
EUROPE, 0,2%
USA, 1% TAIWAN, 1%
INDIA, 1% JAPAN, 1%
JAPAN, 1% INDIA, 1%
TAIWAN, 3% EUROPE, 2%
USA, 3%
SOUTH KOREA, 4% CHINA, 76%
MALAYSIA, 6%
MALAYSIA, 6%
CHINA, 71%
SOUTH KOREA, 6%

SOURCE IEA PVPS, RTS CORPORATION. SOURCE IEA PVPS, RTS CORPORATION.

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CHAPTER 4 TRENDS IN THE PV INDUSTRY

The share of mc-Si solar cells decreased from about 54% in 2018 Figure 4.6 shows PV module production per technology.
to 35% in 2019. Major manufacturers are working on the Crystalline Si PV modules accounted for 96% of the global PV
commercialization of higher efficiency technologies such as module production in 2019, staying at the same level as the
heterojunction, n-type silicon PERT and TopCon, in order to previous year. Among the c-Si PV modules, sc-Si PV modules took
respond to the demand for PV modules with higher outputs. The the higher share (62%) than the mc-Si PV modules (34%). This was
production capacity of heterojunction (HJT) solar cells is driven by the trending search for higher conversion efficiency in
increasing globally. In 2019, more than 10 companies entered the the market, the increase in the supply and the price reduction of sc-
HJT solar cell manufacturing field. Si wafers. As for thin-film PV modules, the increased production of
CdTe PV modules by First Solar (USA) increased the share of thin-
Major PV module manufacturers have continued making
film modules from 2,4% in 2018 to 4,0%.
investments to improve conversion efficiencies, through efforts
such as the improvement of the passivation process for PERC or
PERT structures, thinning of the electrode, adoption of four or
more busbars (four busbars are the standard, and five/ six-busbar
products are also on sale), as well as the adoption of multi-busbar FIGURE 4.6: PV MODULE PRODUCTION PER
wiring or wiring without busbars. TECHNOLOGY IN 2019
Global PV module production (c-Si PV module and thin-film PV
module) increased from 116 GW in 2018 to 140 GW in 2019. As 160
shown in Figure 4.5, China remains the largest producer of PV
140
modules in the world, as in 2018. China produced 98,6 GW of PV
modules in 2019, accounting for 70% of the total global PV module 120
production. As of the end of 2019, China has a PV module
production capacity of around 150 GW/year. 100

The second largest PV module manufacturing country is South GW 80

Korea, which produced about 8,4 GW. Malaysia ranked third with
about 8 GW of production. Other major IEA PVPS countries 60
owning PV module production capacities are Japan, Germany
and USA. Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Mexico, 40
Denmark, France, Italy, Finland, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey and
20
South Africa also possess PV module production capacity.
Among these countries, USA reported an increase of
0
manufacturing capacity of PV modules. In 2019, the US 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
production of PV modules was 3,84 GW, a 154% increase from
2018 (1,51 GW). Several major PV module manufactures Thin-film mono -Si multi-Si
established US factories to avoid safeguard duties imposed in
2018. Among non-IEA PVPS members, major countries
SOURCE IEA PVPS, RTS CORPORATION.
producing PV modules are Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, India
and Poland. Production bases have been established in Russia,
Algeria, Brazil, Morocco, Ghana, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and
so on. As for solar cells, the production capacity of PV modules is
increasing in Vietnam due to the impacts of the trade conflicts. It
was reported that Vietnam has more than 7 GW/year of PV
module production capacity.
India has an effective PV module production capacity of
6 GW/year. The Indian government conducts tenders for PV
projects which include the establishment of local manufacturing
facilities, in order to cultivate domestic industries. A similar tender
was also conducted in Turkey. In addition to the requests for
lowering transportation costs following the PV module price
declines, there are some countries such as France and South
Korea, where PV module carbon footprints are included in the
requirements for support measures. It is assumed that more
production bases will be established in the areas adjacent to the
locations where PV markets are established.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 43

CHAPTER 4 TRENDS IN THE PV INDUSTRY

THE UPSTREAM PV SECTOR / CONTINUED

© Adobe Stock

TABLE 4.1: GLOBAL TOP FIVE MANUFACTURERS IN TERMS OF PV CELL/MODULE PRODUCTION AND SHIPMENT
VOLUME (2019)

RANK SOLAR CELL PRODUCTION (GW) PV MODULE PRODUCTION (GW) PV MODULE SHIPMENT (GW)

1 Tongwei Solar 13,4 JinkoSolar 12,0 JinkoSolar 14,3

2 JA Solar Technology 9,2 JA Solar 10,6 JA Solar 10,3

3 LONGi Green Energy Technology 8,4 Hanwha Solutions 9,3 Trina Solar 10,0

4 Hanwha Solutions 7,1 Canadian Solar 9,0 Canadian Solar 8,6

5 Shanghai Aiko Solar Energy 7,0 LONGi Green Energy Technology 8,9 LONGi Green Energy Technology 8,4

NOTE: PRODUCTION VOLUMES ARE MANUFACTURERS’ OWN PRODUCTION, WHEREAS SOURCE IEA PVPS AND RTS CORPORATION, ESTIMATED.
SHIPMENT VOLUMES INCLUDE OWN PRODUCTION AND OEM PROCUREMENT.

Table 4.1 shows the global top five manufacturers in terms of the With the price reduction of c-Si PV modules, modules for building
PV cell/module production and the shipment volume. All of them integrated PV (BIPV) systems have been commercialized, such as
are c-Si PV manufacturers. As for solar cells, Tongwei Solar of modules with coatings on the surface glass and colored films.
China, who focuses on solar cell production, ranked first with a
Approx. 4,1 GW of thin-film PV modules were produced in 2019.
production of 13,4 GW in 2019. The top five manufacturers of PV
Thin-film PV modules were mainly produced in Malaysia, USA,
modules were the same as 2018. JinkoSolar has ranked first
Japan, Germany, and China, as in the previous year. First Solar
during four years in a row, with a production volume of 12 GW.
of USA remained the world’s largest thin-film PV module
These major manufacturers plan to further increase their
manufacturer. First Solar owns factories in the USA, Malaysia,
production capacity forward in 2020. So, it is highly likely that a
and Vietnam, and it produced 5,2 GW of CdTe thin-film PV
manufacturer with 20 GW/year shipment will appear.
modules in 2019. As for thin-film PV other than CdTe thin-film
Furthermore, with the new enhancement of production facilities
PV, a total of 0,6 GW of CIGS PV modules were produced in 2019
by some manufacturers, oversupply and selection of
in Japan, Germany, USA, etc. As for thin-film PV, new
manufacturers are expected as well.
production bases are being established in China, and production
In the area of c-Si PV, the output capacity of PV modules is also of CIGS and CdTe thin-film PV modules has been reported. China
rising, as a reflection of the improvement of the solar cells National Building Materials (CNBM) started the operation of a
conversion efficiency. Higher wattage PV modules have been CIGS thin-film PV module factory in the Sichuan province in
released using high-efficiency solar cells, as well as half-cut or 1/3 China. The company is also manufacturing CdTe thin-film PV
cut or multicut solar cells. As the electrical resistance within these modules. In China, there are also some other companies
solar cells is reduced, the output drop due to the resistance heat manufacturing thin-film PV modules. In many of the IEA PVPS
generation will be curbed and the reduction of conversion member countries, R&D and commercialization efforts for the
efficiency under high temperatures in the summer can be improvement of conversion efficiency and throughput, as well as
suppressed as well, which is said to lead to increase in total power for the enlargement of the module size have been continuously
generation volume. In 2019, about two-thirds of newly installed PV reported for CIGS thin-film PV modules. As for thin-film PV
module manufacturing lines adopted the half-cut solar cell modules, proposals have been made on those with flexible
technology. As mentioned before, the commercialization of PV substrates which can be installed on curved surfaces, light
modules with larger wafers has started. Other technologies such transmitting PV modules, roof tile-integrated PV modules for
as the shingled PV module technology (overlapping the edges of BIPV systems, and so on.
solar cells without ribbons) and the seamless soldering technology
The average spot price of PV modules in the beginning of 2019
are also adopted. With these technologies, the output capacity of
was 22 USD cents/W. It gradually decreased to 19 USD cents/W
PV modules is increasing and > 500W or > 600 W c-Si PV modules
by the end of the year. This decline is the result of the widening
are being commercialized or underway for commercialization. It is
gap between supply and demand. The price reduction of
also reported that bifacial PV modules using either PERC or
polysilicon and the reduction of polysilicon usage also
heterojunction solar cells on both sides of the module are rising, to
contributed. This situation has continued giving a negative
generate more power and a lower LCOE, seeking higher IRR.
impact on the profit structure of major PV module
Bifacial PV modules are expected to achieve the lowest LCOE with
manufacturers. Under such circumstances, the integration of
single axis trackers in utility-scale applications. They are used for
manufacturers has been accelerated.
agroPV and floating PV applications as well. It is expected that the
share of bifacial PV modules will reach 50% by the end of 2023.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 44

CHAPTER 4 TRENDS IN THE PV INDUSTRY

FIGURE 4.7: YEARLY PV INSTALLATION, PV PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTION CAPACITY 2008 - 2019

250

200

150

GW

100

50

0
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

PV installations Total production Total production capacity

SOURCE IEA PVPS, RTS CORPORATION.

Figure 4.7 shows the trends of global yearly PV installation, PV demonstration. Germany, USA, France, Japan, and Spain are
module production and production capacity. The PV installed continuously conducting R&D activities on high-efficiency multi-
capacity in 2019 grew to 115 GW. It is estimated that , by the end junction PV cells/modules. R&D for tandem solar cells using
of the year, the PV module production volume and its crystalline silicon and multi-junction cells is also active in these
manufacturing capacity were 140 GW and 220 GW/year, countries. Hydrogen synthesis using high-efficiency cells is also
respectively. The operation ratio of PV module production in 2019 studied. Application of CPV for AgroPV is researched as well
was 64%, almost at the same level as the previous year (63%). It because of its space efficiency.
should be noted that the production capacity figures include the
Following the rapid improvement of the conversion efficiency in a
capacities of aged facilities and idle facilities that are not
short time, efforts on mass production of perovskite PV
competitive, the effective production capacity is assumed to be at
cells/modules were reported in 2019. For instance, GCL Nano
the level of approx. 180 GW/year in 2019. By summing up
Science (China) under GCL Group (China), started working on the
announced new capacity of PV modules, the production capacity
development of a 100 MW/year mass production line in the
may reach more than 250 GW/year.
beginning of 2019, aiming to start mass production of perovskite
It is observed that the gap between supply and demand was not PV modules in 2020. In July 2020, Hangzhou Microquanta
balanced due to the continued enhancement of the production Semiconductor, China started construction of perovskite PV
capacity including the improvement of conversion efficiency and factory aiming to have 5 GW/year. Saule Technologies (Poland)
the output of PV modules by major manufacturers. aims to start mass production of flexible perovskite solar cells by
2021. In the USA, Swift Solar is working on commercialization of
Furthermore, high-efficiency multi-junction PV cells/modules have
flexible PV modules. Also, efforts on mass production of
been produced, using mainly III-V materials. They are mostly
perovskite/c-Si solar cells were reported. Oxford PV (UK) made
used for satellite or unmanned aerial vehicles and concentrating
announcements on financing, as well as a partnership with an
PV (CPV) systems. Installation of high-efficiency multi-junction PV
equipment manufacturer, aiming to start mass production at the
devices on vehicles has been studied at the stages of R&D and
200 MW/year manufacturing line by 2020.

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CHAPTER 4 TRENDS IN THE PV INDUSTRY

THE UPSTREAM PV SECTOR / CONTINUED

TABLE 4.2: EVOLUTION OF ACTUAL MODULE PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTION CAPACITIES

ACTUAL PRODUCTION (MW) PRODUCTION CAPACITIES (MW)

YEAR IEA PVPS OTHER TOTAL IEA PVPS OTHER UTILIZATION

TOTAL
COUNTRIES COUNTRIES COUNTRIES COUNTRIES RATE

1993 52 52 80 80 65%
1994 0 0 0 0 0%
1995 56 56 100 100 56%
1996 0 0 0 0 0%
1997 100 100 200 200 50%
1998 126 126 250 250 50%
1999 169 169 350 350 48%
2000 238 238 400 400 60%
2001 319 319 525 525 61%
2002 482 482 750 750 64%
2003 667 667 950 950 70%
2004 1 160 1 160 1 600 1 600 73%
2005 1 532 1 532 2 500 2 500 61%
2006 2 068 2 068 2 900 2 900 71%
2007 3 778 200 3 978 7 200 500 7 700 52%
2008 6 600 450 7 050 11 700 1 000 12 700 56%
2009 10 511 750 11 261 18 300 2 000 20 300 55%
2010 19 700 1 700 21 400 31 500 3 300 34 800 61%
2011 34 000 2 600 36 600 48 000 4 000 52 000 70%
2012 33 787 2 700 36 487 53 000 5 000 58 000 63%
2013 37 399 2 470 39 869 55 394 5 100 60 494 66%
2014 43 799 2 166 45 965 61 993 5 266 67 259 68%
2015 58 304 4 360 62 664 87 574 6 100 93 674 67%
2016 73 864 4 196 78 060 97 960 6 900 104 860 74%
2017 97 942 7 200 105 142 144 643 10 250 154 893 68%
2018 106 270 9 703 115 973 165 939 17 905 183 844 63%
2019 123 124 17 173 140 297 190 657 28 530 219 187 64%
NOTE: ALTHOUGH CHINA JOINED IEA PVPS IN 2010, DATA ON CHINA’S PRODUCTION VOLUME AND SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.
PRODUCTION CAPACITIES FROM 2006 ONWARDS ARE INCLUDED IN THE STATISTICS.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 46

CHAPTER 4 TRENDS IN THE PV INDUSTRY

THE DOWNSTREAM SECTOR sources was contracted via CPPA in 2019. This represents a 43%
increase from 2018. However, regional differences are significant
due to regulatory issues. Major CPPA markets are in the USA and
An overview of the downstream sector from the PV industry can Europe. In the countries where the national electric utility
be described as in Figure 4.8 (example of utility-scale projects). companies dominate the market, CPPA is either not allowed or
only allowed for specific cases.
PV developers have been active in PV power plant developments
in the countries where power purchase agreements (PPAs) are Following the reduction of the PV generation cost, some cases were
guaranteed under auctions, and where feed-in tariff (FIT) reported, where IPPs trade PV electricity on the electricity trading
programs and other mechanisms are implemented. While market without subsidies. This business model, called “Merchant
developers sell PV power plants to Independent Power Producers PV”, is active in European countries such as Spain, Italy, UK, etc.
(IPPs) or investors called asset owners, some developers own PV
Companies doing business in the downstream sector have various
power plants as their own assets.
origins: subsidiaries of electric utilities, subsidiaries of PV module
Companies providing Engineering, Procurement and Construction or polysilicon manufacturers, companies involved in the
for PV systems (mainly utility-scale applications but larger conventional energy or oil-related energy business. Major PV
commercial or industrial applications also fall into this category) project developers are enhancing overseas business deployment
are called EPCs. EPCs include pure-players companies and and are active in business deployment in emerging markets such
general construction companies offering services for installing PV as Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. The number of
systems. Integrated PV developers sometimes conduct EPC project developers deploying international business is increasing.
together with operation and maintenance (O&M) services by As in 2018, utility-origin or conventional energy-origin companies,
themselves. Some companies develop PV power plants and own namely Engie (France), EDF (France), Total (France), Enel (Italy),
them, while others provide EPC and own the plants until they sell RWE (Germany), E.ON (Germany), Acciona (Spain), Shell
them to IPPs. Generally, utility-scale projects are owned by IPPs (UK/Netherland), and BP (UK) have been expanding their
(together with equity investors), who sell the power to utilities business in the PV and other renewable sectors.
under long-term PPAs. Equity investors or other financial
Global major oil companies are also shifting to the renewable
institutes also play an important role for the PV project
energy business. These companies are either committed to
development as equity or loan providers.
achieving net zero energy or making investments for the energy
In some cases, PV electricity is sold directly to private companies, transition. Thus, they are actively enhancing related business
who procure electricity generated by renewable energy sources. through acquisitions or by forming partnerships on a global scale.
This occurs in places where the electricity market is liberalized
Asian electric utilities are also active in the renewable energy
and at the same time where it is systematically possible. These
business. The Malaysian national electric power company, Tenaga
contracts are called Corporate PPA (CPPA). According to the
Nasional developed utility-scale PV projects in Malaysia.
“Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2020” report,
Petronas, Malaysian state-owned oil company acquired Amplus
published by UNEP (the United Nations Environment
Energy Solutions having 500 MW of PV project portfolio in 2019
Programme), 19,5 GW of electricity from renewable energy
and invested in SOLS Energy for distributed PV power in July

FIGURE 4.8: OVERVIEW OF DOWNSTREAM SECTOR (UTILITY PV APPLICATION)

SUPPLIERS EPC / INSTALLERS O&M IPP / DEVELOPER

PV MODULES INTEGRATED DEVELOPER / EPC TAX EQUITY INVESTOR

INVERTERS PV EPCs FINANCIAL INSTITUTE

OPERATION MONITORING
DEVELOPER
/ IPP
SUPPORT STRUCTURES / TRACKER INSTALLERS YIELD COST

OTHER BOS

SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 47

CHAPTER 4 TRENDS IN THE PV INDUSTRY

THE DOWNSTREAM SECTOR / CONTINUED

2020. It was reported that PetroChina decided to enter the PV and BALANCE OF SYSTEM COMPONENT MANUFACTURERS
wind power generation business. KEPCO, a Korean national AND SUPPLIERS
electric power company is actively working on renewable energy
Balance of system (BOS) component manufacturers and suppliers
projects in Asia, Americas and Africa.
represent an important part of the PV value chain and BOS
It should also be noted that several vertically-integrated companies components are accounting for an increasing portion of the
are present in the downstream sector. These companies produce system cost as the PV module price is falling. Accordingly, the
PV modules or polysilicon, develop PV projects and provide EPC production of BOS products has turned into an important sector of
and O&M services. c-Si PV module manufacturers such as the overall PV industry.
JinkoSolar, Canadian Solar (Canada) and Hanwha Solutions
The inverter technology has become the focus of interest since
(Korea) are also active in the downstream sector. Notable
the penetration ratio of grid-connected PV systems has increased
polysilicon manufacturers investing in the international downstream
to the extent that it represents now close to 99% of the market.
business are GCL-Poly Energy (China) and OCI (Korea). Thin-film
Since the new grid codes require the active contribution of PV
PV module manufacturer First Solar announced withdrawal from
inverters to do grid management and grid protection, new
the EPC business in the USA in September 2019.
inverters are now being developed with sophisticated control and
In 2019 and later, a number of PV plus storage batteries projects interactive communications features. With these functions, the PV
are announced under auction and other frameworks in Australia, power plants can actively support the grid management, for
USA, Portugal, South Africa, India, etc. In South Korea, under instance, by providing reactive power and other ancillary
the RPS scheme, an increasing number of PV plus storage services. In case of distributed PV systems, advanced inverters
projects are being developed, supported by the policy measure to play a key role for the storage battery management,
issue Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) with a multiplier. From communication, monitoring, controlling home appliances, as well
Japan, it was reported that storage batteries were installed at a as charging EVs.
utility-scale PV power plant in Hokkaido Prefecture, in response to
PV inverters are produced in many IEA PVPS member countries
the request from local electric utility company. In addition to
such as China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, USA, Canada,
storage projects, hybrid projects installing PV and wind power
Germany, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Thailand.
generation and PV plus pumped hydro were also reported as one
Originally, the supply structures of PV inverters were affected by
of the measures to support variable renewable energy sources.
national codes and regulations so that domestic or regional
The picture of the downstream sector for distributed generation is manufacturers tended to dominate domestic or regional PV
different from that of utility-scale PV applications. Distributed PV markets. However, lower price imported products started to
systems for residential, commercial and industrial applications are increase their share in countries and market segments where the
owned generally by the building owners or third-party companies. cost reduction pressure is strong. In such markets, leading players
In some countries, the third-party ownership (TPO) business with global supply chains are taking the share of regional players.
model is quite active. The companies using the TPO business
It is estimated that Chinese inverter manufacturers supplied
model provide PV systems to property owners and sign an
73,5 GW of inverters in 2019, a 11,9% increase from the 65,7 GW
agreement to supply PV electricity usually at a lower price than
provided in 2018. About 40,3 GW and 12 GW of OEM products
the retail electricity price. These companies also provide loans to
were exported. Major export destinations are India, Europe, Latin
customers who want to keep the ownership of PV systems.
America, USA and Japan. According to CPIA, Chinese inverters
The demand for storage batteries for distributed PV systems has accounted for 77% of the European PV market in 2019, 61% in
been rising in the markets where PV systems have already been India, 58% in Latin America, the Middle East and Japan. It is
widely installed such as the states of California and Hawaii in the estimated that the Chinese manufacturers’ share in the global PV
USA, Australia and Germany. In Germany, it is reported that inverter market was around 60% in 2019, almost the same level
around 90% of new residential PV systems including storage as in 2018 (61%). While in 2011, China counted only with one
batteries were installed in 2019. In Australia, 22 661 decentralized inverter manufacturer (Sungrow) in the top 10 ranking, whereas in
storage systems were installed in 2019. 2019, five Chinese companies were in the top 10 ranking for their
shipment volume (Huawei, Sungrow, Sineng, Growatt and Ginlong
Services to install off-grid PV systems in non-electrified areas in
Solis), the same number as 2018; even though the top ranked
Africa and other nations are also active. The small-scale off-grid PV
companies are not the same.
business is active through a divided payment of the handling charge
and a usage fee called pay-as-you-go (PAYG) scheme. There is also The typical products dedicated to the residential PV market have
a rental with purchase option. The PAYG scheme is implemented rated output powers ranging from 1 kW to 10 kW, for single phase
mainly in countries or regions having difficulty with the electricity (Europe) or split phase (USA and Japan) grid connection. For
access. According to the Global Off-Grid Lighting Association utility-scale applications, 3 to 4 MW centralized inverters are
(GOGLA), 8,5 million solar lighting and 1,2 million off-grid PV common. 5 MW inverters are also available. The share of string
systems were installed in 2019 and the PAYG model significantly inverters is increasing for large-scale PV systems. The string
contributed to the PV market for improving electricity access. inverter size is also increasing and exceeding 200 kW level. Larger

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CHAPTER 4 TRENDS IN THE PV INDUSTRY

sized inverters with higher DC voltage, up to 1500 V, reduce BOS TRADE CONFLICTS
cost with longer strings. In the utility-scale segment, one of the
new business models for inverter companies is the repowering
business. Manufacturers established a repowering sector aiming Trade conflicts over PV products, including polysilicon, continued
at replacing the demand for utility PV power plants operated for having an impact on the business strategy of PV companies. In
more than 10 years. this section, the trends of major trade conflicts observed in 2019
and later are described.
Inverter technologies have improved thanks to the adoption of new
power semiconductor devices such as SiC and GaN. These devices In 2018, the USA, which is one of the major PV markets,
achieved higher conversion efficiencies, together with a reduction implemented safeguard measures under the Section 201 of the US
in size and weight, resulting in lower LCOE. Meanwhile, inverters Trade Act of 1974. A safeguard tariff towards c-Si PV modules was
are now required to have smarter control functions as well, to then introduced. The measures were implemented on February 7,
realize autonomous adjustment functions for the grid stabilization 2018 and are effective for four years. The tariff imposed on c-Si PV
(voltage stabilization, frequency stabilization, power factor cells and modules imported to the USA is 30% in the first year, 25%
adjustment, output curtailment, soft start, etc.). An increasing in the second year, 20% in the third year and 15% in the fourth
number of manufacturers propose inverter and PV storage year. However, the tariff on solar cells will be exempt for up to
solutions for the market where self-consumption is the major 2,5 GW/year of import. Beneficiary countries of Generalized
driver. In this sector of distributed generation, packaged products System of Preferences (GSP), which aims to support developing
consisting of PV and storage batteries with Home Energy countries, and countries accounting for less than 3% of total US
Management Systems (HEMS) or Building Energy Management import are exempt from the safeguard measures. At the beginning,
Systems (BEMS) are proposed or sold by integrators. it was calculated that the installation cost of a utility-scale PV
system in the USA will increase by about 10 USD cents/W in case
The Module Level Power Electronics (MLPE) market, consisting of
a 30% tariff is imposed, and negative impacts on the electricity
microinverters and DC optimizers (working at module level), is
business market were concerned. However, due to the price
expanding, especially in the USA. MLPE can help achieving a
reduction of PV modules, the impacts of the safeguard tariff were
higher output for PV arrays which are affected by shading and a
limited. Meanwhile, major Chinese and Korean PV manufacturers
more efficient rapid shutdown can be conducted in case of fire.
set up PV module manufacturing bases in the USA and the
Just like PV module suppliers, inverter manufacturers have been manufacturing capacity of PV cells/ modules in the USA increased
suffering from the significant cost pressures and severe from 2 GW/year as of the end of 2017 to 6,6 GW/year as of the end
competition. Reorganization, mergers, and acquisitions of inverter of 2019.
manufacturers have been reported in 2019. In January 2019,
As for the safeguard measures, changes regarding the items
KACO new energy (Germany) announced that it sold the central
subject to the safeguard measures and an addition of the
inverter business to OCI Power (Korea). The company also
countries subject to these measures were announced. In June
announced a plan to sell the string inverter business to Siemens
2018, interdigitated back contact (IBC) and busbar-less c-Si PV
(Germany) and to focus on the storage system business and the
cells and modules were exempted from the safeguard measures.
smart infrastructure business. In February 2019, Schneider
In May 2019, Turkey, which was initially exempt from the
Electric (France) disclosed its plan to withdraw from the central
safeguard measures, was added to the list of countries subject to
inverter business and concentrate on the string inverter business
the measures, as well as India in June 2019. In June 2019, it was
for residential and commercial applications. In July 2019, ABB
announced to exclude bifacial PV cells and modules from the
(Switzerland) agreed to sell the PV inverter business to FIMER
subjects of the safeguard measures. Then, the U.S. Trade
(Italy) and the deal was completed in March 2020. In the MLPE
Representative (USTR) announced re-imposition of duty on
sector, SunPower Corporation (USA) sold the microinverter
bifacial products in November 2019. However, the U.S. Court of
business to Enphase Energy (USA) in August 2018.
International Trade (CIT) allowed exclusion of bifacial modules. In
The production of specialized components such as tracking April 2020, USTR tried to remove exemption for bifacial PV
systems, PV connectors, DC switchgears and monitoring modules again but CIT suspended.
systems, represents an important business for many large-scale
Under the section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974 towards China,
electric equipment manufacturers. With the increase of utility-
the second sanction took effect in August 2018, which imposed
scale PV power plants, the market for single-axis trackers has
25% tariff on PV cells and modules. Then in September 2018, the
been growing. In 2019, it is estimated that around 40% of utility-
third measures were implemented, which initially imposed 10%
scale PV projects installed in 2019 adopted single-axis trackers.
tariffs on inverters, AC modules with microinverters embedded in
According to Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore
PV modules, and the tariff was increased to 25% in May 2019.
(SERIS), the combination of single-axis trackers and bifacial PV
However, the impacts are expected to be little since most Chinese
modules can achieve the highest cost effectiveness across the
PV module manufacturers have shifted their manufacturing bases
most parts of the world. It is expected that the lowering PPA price
for shipping to the USA to countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia,
will drive further growth of the single-axis tracker market.

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CHAPTER 4 TRENDS IN THE PV INDUSTRY

TRADE CONFLICTS / CONTINUED

Thailand, etc. Inverter and MLPE manufacturers having review of duties on polysilicon and decided 5 years extension in
manufacturing bases in China, announced to utilize their January 2020. In July 2019, REC Silicon (Norway) which has its
manufacturing bases in countries such as India and Mexico to manufacturing base in the USA, decided on a long-term closure of
avoid the imposition of the safeguard tariff. Huawei Technologies its polysilicon factory in Moses Lake, Washington. REC Silicon
(China), which ranked first in the global inverter shipment in 2018, established a joint venture with a Chinese company for a fluidized
admitted its policy to withdraw from the US PV market due to the base reactor (FBR) process-based polysilicon factory in China,
trade conflicts with the USA over communication equipment. In which is currently in operation.
September 2019, Trump administration imposed a 15% duty on
In India, the government imposed several duties on PV modules
Chinese import. The percentage of this duty was lowered to 7,5%
and other related materials. In July 2018, a safeguard duty was
in February 2020 corresponding to the first step agreement
imposed on imported PV cells/modules from China, Malaysia and
between China and the US.
other advanced countries. Duties were 25% during the first year,
Moreover, antidumping duties (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD) then 20% the first 6 months of the second year and dropping to
measures on PV modules using Chinese solar cells (which took 15% later. After reviewing the safeguard duty, one-year extension
effect in 2012) as well as AD and CVD measures on Chinese and for products imported from China, Thailand and Vietnam was
Taiwanese c-Si PV cells and modules (which took effect in 2015), decided in July 2020 while Malaysian products were exempted. In
are still active in the USA. Other duties on imported steel (25%) and addition to the safeguard duties, the Indian government is
Aluminum (10%) effective since March 2018 give impacts on the considering the imposition of a 15 to 20% Basic Custom Duty
cost of support structures and frames of PV modules. (BCD) on imported PV products including solar cells, PV modules
and inverters. At the time of writing this, imposition of BCD is not
China terminated imposition of AD and CVD on European
yet announced. The Indian government aims to establish local
polysilicon in October 2018. Meanwhile, AD and CVD on
manufacturing capacity and duties are imposed on glass for PV
polysilicon manufactured in the USA and Korea, which have been
modules from China (effective from August 2017) and Malaysia
imposed since 2014, still continue. The tariff rate for Korean
(effective from February 2019).
products was revised in November 2017. This measure was
scheduled to terminate in January 2019. However, the tariff is still In Turkey, the Ministry of Economy decided to impose duty on
imposed since the Chinese Ministry of Commerce decided to Chinese PV modules from April 2017. Original duty was
implement a sunset review (an investigation to judge whether to 300 USD/m2 (approximately 30 to 35% increase of the price). In
terminate AD measures). In 2019, China conducted a sunset April 2020, the basis of the duty changed to 25 USD/kg.

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CHAPTER 4 TRENDS IN THE PV INDUSTRY

five
SOCIETAL IMPLICATIONS OF PV

The PV sector has significant ramifications for the economy, The choice was made to assess the value of the PV sector for the
for the society and for the environment. The positive impacts economy based on the number of installations rather than by
generated in these three areas show that PV is a main evaluating all the contributions of the complete value chain. The
contributor on the path towards sustainability. assessment of the business value of the industry is in general
more complex, due to the decentralized production and the
existence of transnational companies. However, a specific
VALUE FOR THE ECONOMY approximation of the industrial business value of PV was
performed for IEA PVPS major PV manufacturing countries and is
presented in a specific section below.
The turnover of the PV sector in 2019 amounted to around 135
Billion USD. This number has been calculated based on the size of
the PV market (annual installations and cumulative capacities) and CONTRIBUTION TO THE GDP
the average price value for installation and Operation & Maintenance
Figure 5.1 shows the estimated business value of the PV sector in
(O&M) specific to the different market segments and countries.
IEA PVPS reporting countries as compared to their national GDPs.
Given the variety of existing maintenance contracts and cost, the These values were determined based on the internal PV markets
turnover specifically linked to O&M has not been considered in in each country, as described above, and hence they do not take
detail. However, the global turnover related to O&M was imports or exports into account. Some countries benefited from
estimated at around 5,4 Billion USD per year. This estimate can exports that increased the business value they obtained through
be considered as a lower range value, due to the assumptions the internal PV market while huge imports in other countries had
made for its calculations. It does not take into account either the the opposite effect. However, as already mentioned, the market is
material cost of replacement and repowering, which is hardly integrated to the point that it would be extremely complex to
visible, or the value of recycling. O&M costs have decreased over assess the contribution from each part of the PV value chain.
time and a part of PV systems are not maintained through regular
As shown by Figure 5.1, the business value of PV compared to
contracts (especially residential roof-top systems, unless they are
GDP represented less than 0,4% in all considered countries and
monitored). The real value of O&M is probably higher than this,
more than 0,05% in most of them, a range very similar to last
above 10 Billion USD per year, if all operations could be included.
year. Two countries show major notable evolutions of their values
Compared to last year and in parallel to the growth of the annual compared to last year, Spain and China, in link with the important
market, the global business value of PV installations has increased evolutions of their respective markets. Spain saw an increase of
by around 4%. On the other hand, the global value for O&M has the business value of PV from around 0,02% of its GDP in 2018 to
slightly decreased in our estimates (about 20%) due to more 0,28% in 2019 due to the impressive surge of its market. On the
realistic costs figures. It should however be considered that this contrary, the share of PV in China’s GDP dropped from slightly
part of the PV economy is going to grow, powered by aging plants below 0,30% in 2018 to 0,16%, because of the significant market
and repowering operations. contraction in the country.

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 CHAPTER 5 SOCIETAL IMPLICATIONS OF PV

VALUE FOR THE ECONOMY / CONTINUED

FIGURE 5.1: BUSINESS VALUE OF THE PV MARKET IN 2019

0,45

0,40

0,35

0,30
Share of GDP (%)

0,25

0,20

0,15

0,10

0,05

0
A

LD

D
IA

LY

D
N

EA

A
EL

CE

K
EN

DA
ND

AN

AR
AN
LI

AN
SI

IN

US
PA

AI

IU

ITA
RA

AN
OR
R

ED

NA
RA

AY

ST
SP

CH
KO

LG

NM
JA

LA

RM

RL

NL
IS
W

SW

FR
AU
AL

CA
ST

BE
ER

ZE

FI
GE

DE
AU

IT
TH

SW
NE

Business value of PV installation Business value of PV Operations and Maintenance

SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.

INDUSTRIAL VALUE OF PV
FIGURE 5.2: INDUSTRIAL BUSINESS VALUE OF PV IN 2019
Even though assessing the detailed contributions of the different
parts of the whole PV value chain is hardly possible in this report
25,9 BN 2,4 BN 1,4 BN 1,3 BN 1,0 BN 0.5 BN 3.6 BN
due to the level of integration of the market, an approximated USD USD USD USD USD USD USD
100
evaluation of the industrial business value of PV has been
performed and the results detailed for IEA PVPS major PV 90
Share of country total PV industrial value (%)

manufacturing countries.
80
The evaluation was made based on the production volumes and 70
manufacturing shares of countries for polysilicon, wafers, cells and
modules, including thin film technologies, as detailed in Chapter 4, 60

as well as on an average estimated price for each of these four 50

segments. The prices taken into account are based on average
40
prices reported by member countries. We consider that
equipment and materials are included in this computed value. BoS 30
is not considered here. 20
The estimated global industrial value of PV established itself 10
around 36 Billion USD in 2019. Figure 5.2 shows the details of
0
estimated values for IEA PVPS major PV manufacturing countries
A

IA

A
A

PE

compared to their GDP. In addition, it shows the share

HE
IN

RE

US

PA
S

RO
AY
CH

KO

OT
JA
EU
AL

represented by each step of the value chain in the PV industrial

M

value for each country in relative terms.

PolySi Wafers Cells Modules

SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 52

 CHAPTER 5 SOCIETAL IMPLICATIONS OF PV

China, by far the predominant manufacturing country in all steps (installation and O&M) job numbers, which were then extrapolated to
of the PV value chain, shows an approximate share of 0,18% of its other markets depending on their respective work market specifics.
GDP represented by the PV Industry (polysilicon, wafers, cells and A distinction was therefore made between countries in developed
modules). Remarkably, while having much lower production economies having a costly, low intensity work market and the
volumes, the PV industry in Malaysia represents a significantly emerging economies with an affordable work force. Manufacturing
higher share of the country’s GDP compared to China, nearing numbers are based on industry reports and additional sources and
0,40%. Korea shows an approximate 0,15% share, while split according to the same methodology. When numbers differed
remaining countries do not exceed 0,01%. from official job numbers, official numbers were always considered.
Installation numbers are always an approximation.
For the BoS, the industry is significantly more distributed and
production occurs in many countries. It is not counted as such This report estimates that the PV sector employed up to
here, but such an analysis would make sense to grasp the extent 3,5 million people globally at the end of 2019. An estimated
of the PV industry impact on the countries’ economic landscape. 1,3 million were employed in the upstream part, including
The value of the BoS globally reached 34 Billion USD in 2019. materials and equipment, while 2,2 million were active in the
downstream part, including O&M.
As the leading producer of PV products and the world’s largest
installation market, China is markedly leading PV employment
EMPLOYMENT IN PV with around 2,2 million jobs in 2019, which corresponds to a
significantly higher job intensity than almost anywhere else.
Lower by one order of magnitude, India and the USA come
Figure 5.3 gives an overview of the total jobs in IEA PVPS second and third in the ranking with about 240 000 jobs each. The
countries and India. Reported numbers have been established European Union shows a total PV employment of about
based on the IEA PVPS National Survey Reports and additional 170 000 FTE, followed by Japan that takes the fourth place with
sources such as the IRENA jobs database. It should be noted that around 74 600 FTE. Generally, in good correlation with the market
these numbers are strongly dependent on the assumptions and evolutions, PV employment expanded where the market
field of activities considered in the upstream and downstream developed: installation jobs are often temporary ones, depending
sectors and represent an estimate in the best case. on the market dynamics. In other words, 2,2 million people
The methodology that was used started from the data provided by worked one way or another for the downstream part of the PV
reporting countries on the upstream (industrial) and downstream sector globally in 2019.

FIGURE 5.3: GLOBAL EMPLOYMENT IN PV PER COUNTRY

2,5

0,5

0,4
Million jobs

0,3

0,2

0,1

0
NE S T N D

LA A
A

FR ILE

RL Y
CA ND

RT C A
A
A

JA U
RM N

KO Y

RW L
FI AY

NM D
SP A
M IN
TU ICO
AL EY

A IA

M
LG E

IS A
SW AEL
SO AU EN

A A

OR K
CO
ZE L

N O GA
BE NC
ND
AN

M AR
DE LAN
ER LI
IN
DI
US

RE

H RI
D
GE PA
E

IU
T H YS
A

IT ITA
M RK

PO F R I
ED

OC
CH

NA
AU I L A

A
TH RA

UT ST
EX
IN
CH

U
A
A

N
SW

SOURCE IEA PVPS NSRS AND IRENA RESOURCE DATABASE.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 53

CHAPTER 5 SOCIETAL IMPLICATIONS OF PV

EMPLOYMENT IN PV / CONTINUED

Employment dynamics in the PV sector are evolving in line with In China, since the end of 2015, 100% electrification of the country
the changes in the PV markets and industry. PV labour place has been reached. So, there are no government supported
trends reflect the status of the PV industry landscape projects for off-grid rural electrification anymore since 2016.
development and how the supply chain is becoming more However, a massive program for poverty alleviation leaning on
globalised and geographically differentiated. PV was launched. It aims to enhance the life standards of around
2 million households, especially in the most impoverished parts of
When specifically focusing on the development and installation
eastern China by installing around 5 kW of PV per household. This
activities, which are more labour intensive than manufacturing, it
leads to an additional annual income of over 3 000 CNY for these
can be observed that the average FTE intensity per installed MW
households through the selling of the generated PV electricity. In
is around 20. However, these numbers vary considerably from
2019, the established policy of 2018 was maintained.
one country to another and additionally from one market segment
to another. Small scale PV generates more jobs than utility-scale In Malaysia, rural electrification is still a priority of the
PV in general. O&M generates many manual jobs while the entire government, with a projected 100% electrification rate by 2025.
PV value chain creates good quality jobs, from research centres Rural electrification is done together with utilities as a form of
to manufacturing. In summary, the upstream part generates public-private partnership. In remote Sarawak, the Sarawak
around 10 FTE per MW produced while the downstream part Alternative Rural Electrification Scheme (SARES) has electrified
generates around 20 FTE per MW installed. almost 5 000 households in 192 villages since its launch in 2016
and has received regional recognition in 2019. Solar PV and
With an estimated total of 3,5 million jobs in the solar PV sector
hybrid systems are often used in this scheme, as well as
worldwide in 2019, PV employs around one third of the total
microhydro-technologies.
renewable energy workforce and remains number one in the
employment ranking of the global renewable energy sector. In Korea, in Seoul, with the financial aid from Seoul Metropolitan
government, a non-profit organization, Energy Peace Foundation,
The emergence of PV as a mainstream technology wakes up the
and Solar Terrace company installed 30 kW mini-PV systems for
appetites for local manufacturing and job creation at all levels of the
100 energy-vulnerable households (300 W/household). This type
value chain. Looking at IEA PVPS member countries only, several
of mini-PV installations is becoming popular in Korea to reduce
countries have pushed through different schemes for local
the electricity bill burden during the summer.
manufacturing in recent years, namely Canada, France, Morocco,
Turkey and the USA. Other countries have succeeded in bringing In Italy, the Municipality of Porto Torres (Sardinia Region), with the
many manufacturers to produce PV components in their country, collaboration of Gestore dei Servizi Energetici, introduced in 2017
such as Malaysia, which is the most successful example to date. the so called “reddito energetico” (energy income) project. The
Others, such as Chile and South Africa, are eyeing possibilities. municipality allocated public resources to purchase PV systems,
sold on loan to families in energy poverty conditions, to make them
benefit from PV self-consumption and thus reduce their energy bills.
The revenues of the net-billing (Scambio, Sul Posto, SSP) feed a
public fund, in order to finance the maintenance of the plants or
PV FOR SOCIAL POLICIES possibly the purchase of other plants for other families. After this
project, some other municipalities and/or some Regions are
Besides its direct value in the economy and the jobs that it planning and carrying out similar initiatives.
creates, both making contribution to the prosperity of the In Australia, a number of measures for solar for low-income
countries in which it is being installed and produced, PV entails households were announced by State Governments in 2019,
additional positive implications on the social level if leveraged with going from interest free loans to rebates or even complete
appropriate policies. Several examples can be highlighted. subsidies.
As shown through the off-grid PV market development in Africa In general, the low cost of PV electricity could reach more
and Asia (see Chapter 2), PV can be a competitive alternative to households to alleviate poverty, both in developed and developing
increase energy access in remote rural areas not connected to countries. It offers opportunities for social programs, and especially
power grids. Improved energy access can benefit rural business to fight energy poverty, which have not been widely used yet. While
performance, free up workers’ time, provide more studying hours the reputation of PV, especially in the European countries that
for children, and create or enhance jobs as a result. Electrification started to fund its development, is the one of a costly energy
is a key factor to reduce poverty and increase education, with a source, increasing electricity prices, the reality of PV in 2020 is that
direct impact on women’s and children’s life standards in many it represents a tremendous opportunity to reduce energy prices for
regions in the world. In that respect, PV would deserve a the poorest citizens, as well as to reduce energy costs for social
significant attention for electrification. housing, public buildings, from schools to retirement homes, and
increase the access to electricity for everyone.

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 CHAPTER 5 SOCIETAL IMPLICATIONS OF PV

CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION installed. The annually produced PV electricity is calculated based
on country specific yields depending on the average yields of PV
installations and irradiation conditions in each country. The
Climate change has become one of the key challenges that our
country specific life cycle CO2 emission factors (gCCO2/kWh) of
societies have to overcome and PV is definitely one of the main
both PV electricity and grid mix electricity are taken from the IEA
solutions for reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.
PVPS Task 12 databases.
The energy sector is responsible for a major part of the global CO2
Using this methodology, calculations show that the PV installed
emissions, with energy related emissions evaluated at 33,3 Gt
capacity today avoids more than 700 Million Tonnes of CO2 eq
CO2eq in 2019.3 From this amount, around 13 Gt are attributed to
annually. While today PV represents around 3,3% of the global
the power sector.
electricity demand, it avoids around 5,4% of the power sector
Increasing the PV share in the grid mix can significantly reduce emissions. This is essentially due to the fact that PV is being
the emissions from power generation. The global average carbon massively installed in countries having highly carbon intensive
intensity of electricity is 463 gCO2kWh4 whereas for 1 kWh grid mixes, such as in China and India.
produced by PV the emitted CO2, considered on a life cycle basis,
Figure 5.4 gives a view of the avoided CO2 emissions in the first 30
can be as low as 15g depending on technology and irradiation
countries in ranking of cumulated installed PV capacity and which
conditions (data from IEA PVPS Task 12 on sustainability and the
represent in total around 97% of the global avoided emissions. This
databases made available by the groups’ researchers).
figure displaying the countries as a function of their installed PV
The total CO2 emissions that are avoided by PV on a yearly basis capacities and grid mix carbon intensities clearly shows their
can be calculated considering the amounts of electricity that can differential contribution to the global avoided emissions and the high
be produced annually by the cumulated PV capacities installed at impact of their respective grid mix compositions. The more CO2 the
the end of 2019 and considering that these amounts replace equal power mix in a country emits, the more positively PV installations
amounts of electricity that would be generated by the respective will contribute to avoiding emissions.
grid mixes of the different countries where these PV capacities are

FIGURE 5.4: YEARLY CO2 EMISSIONS AVOIDED BY PV

1,6
Grid mix CO2 emission factor (MT CO2eq/TWh)

1,4
India, 85,4 China, 334,7
1,2 South Africa, 4,8
Australia, 25,4
Turkey, 13,3

Greece, 4,0 Taiwan, 5,4

1,0
Czech Republic,1,6
Mexico, 6,5
0,8 USA, 51,9
Thailand, 4,0 Korea, 13,0 Avoided CO2 emissions
Israel, 2,1 Vietnam, 3,9
Hungary, 0,8 UAE, 1,6 Netherlands, 4,1
UK, 7,1 0
Germany, 28,0 Japan, 48,8 (MT CO2)
Italy, 13,7
0,6 Ukraine, 2,4
Chile, 2,4 Egypt, 3,1
Spain, 6,7 Asia-Pacific
0,4
Canada, 0,9 Belgium, 1,2 Europe
0,2 Brazil, 1,0 Middle East and Africa
Switzerland, 0,1 France, 0,4
0
The Americas
1 000 10 000 100 000 1 000 000

PV cumulated installed capacity (MW)

SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.

3 IEA – Global CO2 emissions 2019 – Article – 11 February 2020.

4 IEA – Tracking Power 2020.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 55

CHAPTER 5 SOCIETAL IMPLICATIONS OF PV

six
COMPETITIVENESS OF
PV ELECTRICITY IN 2019

The rapid price decline that PV experienced in the last years barriers, other than economic, for PV to become the obvious
has already opened possibilities to develop PV systems in alternative to coal (rather than gas) for utilities. Currently, many
many locations with limited or no financial incentives. already unprofitable coal power plants are still in operation
However, the road to full competitiveness of PV systems with because the regulatory and financial structure is not tailored for so
conventional electricity sources depends on answering many many coal units to become stranded assets. In addition, the
questions and bringing innovative financial solutions, especially choice of alternatives to coal is frequently not motivated by pure
to emerging challenges. economics but is biased towards an electricity price and market
design that favour gas-fuelled electricity. Since all sources of
This section aims at defining where PV stands regarding its own
electricity have benefited at some point from such support, the
competitiveness, starting with a survey of module and system
question of the competitiveness of PV should be considered
prices in several IEA PVPS reporting countries. Given the number
carefully. Hereunder, we will look at the key elements driving the
of parameters involved in competitiveness simulations, this
competitiveness of PV solutions.
chapter will mostly highlight the comparative situation in key
countries. Prices are often averaged and should always be looked
at as segment related.
The question of competitiveness should always be contemplated
in the context of a market environment created for conventional
MODULE PRICES
technologies and sometimes distorted by historical or existing
incentives. The fast development of nuclear in some countries in The very first period of PV market development can be
the last 40 years is a perfect example of policy-driven considered starting from the first prototypes to small scale
investments, where governments imposed the way to go, rather production leading to a total PV installed capacity of around 2 GW.
than letting the market decide. The oil and gas markets are also During this first phase, prices reductions corresponding to a
perfect examples of policy-driven energies which are deemed too learning rate of 18% were achieved: this allowed the total PV
important not to be controlled. PV competitiveness should installed capacity to continue growing further. At that point, prices
therefore be considered in this same respect, rather than the stabilized until the total capacity reached around 10 GW: this
simple idea that it should be considered competitiveness without period is known as the time of low availability of polysilicon that
any regulatory or financial support. There are also further maintained prices at a high level.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 56

 © Adobe Stock

CHAPTER 6 COMPETITIVENESS OF PV ELECTRICITY IN 2019

FIGURE 6.1: PV MODULES SPOT PRICES LEARNING CURVE (1992-2020)

100.0

Small scale production Polysilicon Mass production

Module spot price (USD (2019)/W)

LR = 18% shortage LR = 41%

10.0

1.0

LR = 21%

0.1
0.0 0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0 1 000.0

Total PV installed capacity (GW)

SOURCE IEA PVPS & BECQUEREL INSTITUTE.

Then, a third period started which is still the case today, beginning Figure 6.2 illustrates the prices range for PV modules: it shows
with the mass production of PV, especially in China. During this that prices globally continued to decline in 2019. More specifically
period ranging from 10 GW to current levels, significant lowest prices continue to fall while, a stabilisation or even an
economies of scale led to an impressive 41% learning rate over increase can be observed in countries with higher prices.
the last decade.

FIGURE 6.2: EVOLUTION OF PV MODULES PRICES RANGE

4
Price of PV modules and systems

3
(USD/W)

0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 57

CHAPTER 6 COMPETITIVENESS OF PV ELECTRICITY IN 2019

MODULE PRICES / CONTINUED

On average, the price of PV modules in 2019 (shown in Table 6.1)

accounted for approximately between 40% and 50% of the lowest TABLE 6.1: INDICATIVE MODULE PRICES (NATIONAL
achievable prices that have been reported for grid-connected CURRENCY AND USD/W) IN SELECTED REPORTING
systems. In 2019, the lowest price of modules in the reporting COUNTRIES
countries was about 0,20 USD/W. It is assumed that such prices
are valid for high volumes and late delivery (not for installations in
CURRENCY LOCAL CURRENCY/W USD/W
2019). However, module prices for utility-scale plants have been
reported below the average values, down to less than AUSTRALIA AUD 0,35 - 1,15 0,24 - 0,8
0,20 USD/W at the end of 2019. AUSTRIA EUR 0,42 - 0,45 0,47 - 0,5

The Chinese decision in May 2018 led to a new imbalance between BELGIUM EUR 0,22 - 0,62 0,25 - 0,69
production and demand, with dozens of GW of new production CANADA CAD 0,63 0,47
capacities added in 2017 and 2018 in all segments of the value chain CHINA CNY 1,68 0,24
while the global PV market was stagnating. The price decrease that
DENMARK DKK 4-6 0,3 - 0,5
followed accelerated some project development and can be
considered at least partially responsible for the market growth in FINLAND EUR 0,2 - 0,3 0,22 - 0,34
2019. In 2020, the pandemic started to impact slowly the prices, FRANCE EUR 0,4 - 0,45 0,45 - 0,5
with demand and supply being initially affected.
ISRAEL ILS 0,9537 0,27
Prices below 0,20 USD/W can hardly generate benefits and it is ITALY EUR 0,18 - 0,45 0,2 - 0,5
generally admitted that most companies are not selling a large
JAPAN JPY 171 1,57
part of their production at these low levels. It is also clear that such
prices can be considered below the average production costs of KOREA KRW 280 - 600 0,24 - 0,51

many companies, even if production costs are declining as well. MALAYSIA MYR 0,88 - 1,05 0,21 - 0,25
Looking in depth at the revenues of some manufacturers among SPAIN EUR 0,31 - 0,53 0,35 - 0,59
the most competitive, it appears that average sales are above
SWEDEN SEK 2,2 - 5,4 0,23 - 0,57
these low prices. It can also be assumed that such prices are
obtained with new production lines which production costs are SWITZERLAND CHF 0,35 - 0,73 0,35 - 0,73
significantly lower than previously existing ones. It can also be USA USD 0,4 0,4
assumed that the most competitive thin film technologies can
NOTE: DATA REPORTED IN THIS TABLE DO NOT INCLUDE VAT. SOURCE IEA PVPS.
outperform traditional crystalline silicon ones. The decrease in GREEN = LOWEST PRICE. RED = HIGHEST PRICE.
polysilicon and wafer costs also led to some PV modules’ price
decreases without cost improvements at cells and modules levels.
Higher module prices are still observed depending on the market.
For instance, the prices in Japan are consistently higher than in
Germany and the United States, while average selling prices are
in general still in the 0,3 USD/W range for most producers.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 58

CHAPTER 6 COMPETITIVENESS OF PV ELECTRICITY IN 2019

FIGURE 6.3: 2019 PV MARKET COSTS RANGES

3
USD/W

0
10 000

20 000

30 000

40 000

50 000

60 000

70 000

80 000

90 000

100 000

110 000
0

Installed capacity in MW

Distributed PV on Rooftops Distributed PV as Building Integrated

Utility-scale PV Ground-mounted Floating PV
Off-Grid PV

SOURCE IEA PVPS & BECQUEREL INSTITUTE.

SYSTEM PRICES Figure 6.3 shows the range of system prices in the global PV
market in 2019. It shows that almost 70% of the PV market
consists in prices below 1 USD/W. Large distributed PV systems
Reported prices for PV systems vary widely and depend on a start around 0,7 USD/W while utility-scale PV saw prices as low
variety of factors including system size, location, customer type, as 0,50 USD/W. Lower figures have been seen in 2020 already.
connection to an electricity grid, technical specifications and the Floating PV and BIPV are given as indications given the low
extent to which end-user prices reflect the real costs of all the market development of these solutions. BIPV can be seen as a
components. For more detailed information, the reader is directed series of segments where the prices can significantly diverge. Off-
to each country’s national survey report on the IEA PVPS website grid applications suffer from a similar situation, with totally
(www.iea-pvps.org). different cases illustrated in different prices. In general, the price
range decreased from the previous year for all applications.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 59

CHAPTER 6 COMPETITIVENESS OF PV ELECTRICITY IN 2019

SYSTEM PRICES / CONTINUED

TABLE 6.2: INDICATIVE INSTALLED SYSTEM PRICES IN SELECTED IEA PVPS REPORTING COUNTRIES IN 2019

OFF-GRID (LOCAL CURRENCY

GRID-CONNECTED (LOCAL CURRENCY OR USD PER W)
OR USD PER W)
RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL GROUND-MOUNTED >1 kW

LOCAL LOCAL LOCAL LOCAL

USD/W USD/W USD/W USD/W LOCAL CURRENCY/W USD/W
COUNTRY CURRENCY/W CURRENCY/W CURRENCY/W CURRENCY/W

AUSTRALIA 1,60 1,11 1,68 1,17 1,51 1,05 NA N/A N/A N/A

AUSTRIA 1,56 1,75 0,8 - 1,19 0,9 - 1,33 0,75 0,84 0,70 0,78 2,04 2,28

BELGIUM 1,26 1,41 0,865 - 1,015 0,97 - 1,14 0,79 0,88 0,65 0,73 N/A N/A

CANADA 2,5 - 2,75 1,88 - 2,07 2 - 2,5 1,51 - 1,88 1,8 - 2 1,36 - 1,51 1,25 0,94 N/A N/A

CHINA 5 - 5,5 0,72 - 0,8 5 - 5,5 0,72 - 0,8 5 - 5,5 0,72 - 0,8 4,5 - 5 0,65 - 0,72 N/A N/A

DENMARK 9 - 11 1,35 - 1,65 4 - 10 0,6 - 1,5 5-8 0,75 - 1,2 3-5 0,45 - 0,75 7 - 20 1,05 - 3

FINLAND 0,8 - 1,84 0,9 - 2,06 0,7 - 1,05 0,78 - 1,18 0,6 - 0,7 0,67 - 0,78 0,5 - 0,6 0,56 - 0,67 3-5 3,36 - 5,6

FRANCE 1,7 - 2,1 1,9 - 2,35 1 - 1,7 1,12 - 1,9 0,9 - 1,1 1,01 - 1,23 0,65 - 1 0,73 - 1,12 N/A N/A

GERMANY 0,7 - 2,1 0,78 - 2,35 1 - 1,7 1,12 - 1,9 0,9 - 1,1 1,01 - 1,23 0,65 - 1 0,73 - 1,12 N/A N/A

ISRAEL 5-6 1,4 - 1,68 3,5 - 4,5 0,98 - 1,26 3,50 0,98 NA N/A N/A N/A

ITALY 1,2 - 1,6 1,34 - 1,79 0,95 - 1,25 1,06 - 1,4 0,8 - 1 0,9 - 1,12 0,5 - 0,8 0,56 - 0,9 N/A N/A

JAPAN 321 2,94 222 2,04 222 2,04 202 1,85 N/A N/A

KOREA 1 412 - 1 852 1,21 - 1,59 1 244 - 1 707 1,07 - 1,46 1 204 - 1 619 1,03 - 1,39 1 100 - 1 700 0,94 - 1,46 N/A N/A

MALAYSIA 5,58 1,33 3,83 - 4,43 0,91 - 1,06 3,38 0,81 2,86 0,68 N/A N/A

SPAIN 1,5 - 1,75 1,68 - 1,96 0,75 - 0,95 0,84 - 1,06 0,75 - 1 0,84 - 1,12 0,62 - 0,75 0,69 - 0,84 N/A N/A

SWEDEN 11 - 17 1,16 - 1,8 7 - 16 0,74 - 1,69 7 - 13 0,74 - 1,37 5-9 0,53 - 0,95 25 - 30 2,64 - 3,17

SWITZERLAND 2,5 - 3,5 2,52 - 3,52 1,18 - 2,5 1,19 - 2,52 0,9 - 1,18 0,91 - 1,19 0,65 0,65 6,80 6,84

UNITED STATES 2,84 2,84 1,39 1,39 NA N/A 0,83 0,83 N/A N/A
NOTE: DATA REPORTED IN THIS TABLE DO NOT INCLUDE VAT. SOURCE IEA PVPS.
GREEN = LOWEST PRICE. RED = HIGHEST PRICE.

On average, system prices for the lowest priced off-grid figures given the very low level of installations: in general, off-grid
applications are significantly higher than for the lowest priced prices have been averaged in the figures for readability reasons.
grid-connected applications. This is mainly attributable to the
In 2019, a certain number of floating PV projects have been
relatively higher transport costs to access the sites. Indeed,
realized, in particular in Southeast Asia and in Europe.
large-scale off-grid systems are often installed in places far from
Nevertheless, floating PV would require some further
the grid but also far from major towns and highways. Higher
developments to identify real-life prices.
prices asked for such installations also depend on higher costs for
transport of components, technicians, without even mentioning Additional information about the systems and prices reported for
the higher costs of maintenance. In 2019, the lowest system most countries can be found in the various National Survey
prices in the off-grid sector, irrespective of the type of application, Reports; excluding VAT. More expensive grid-connected system
typically ranged from about 1 USD/W to 5,6 USD/W but prices for prices are often associated with roof integrated slates, tiles, one-
some specific applications can be higher. The large range of off building integrated designs or single projects: BIPV systems in
reported prices in Table 6.2 is a function of country and project general are considered more expensive when using dedicated
specific factors. The highest prices haven’t been included in the components, even if prices are also showing some decline.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 60

 CHAPTER 6 COMPETITIVENESS OF PV ELECTRICITY IN 2019

FIGURE 6.4: EVOLUTION OF RESIDENTIAL AND GROUND MOUNTED SYSTEMS PRICE RANGE 2012 - 2019

5
High range residential systems
Low range residential systems
4
High range ground mounted systems
Low range ground mounted systems
Price of PV systems

3
(USD/W)

1
Lowest price in 2017
Lowest price in 2019
Lowest price
in 2018
0
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.

The lowest achievable installed price of grid-connected systems in prices, balance of system, soft costs and margins. System prices
2019 also varied between countries as shown in Table 6.2. significantly below 0,6 USD/W for large-scale PV systems are
The average price of these systems is tied to the segment. now common in very competitive tenders. The range of prices
Large grid-connected installations can have either lower system tends to converge, with the lowest prices decreasing at a reduced
prices depending on the economies of scale achieved, or higher rate while the highest prices are reducing faster. Finally, the
system prices where the nature of the building integration and question of the lowest CAPEX is not always representative of the
installation, degree of innovation, learning costs in project lowest LCOE: the case of utility-scale PV with trackers illustrates
management and the price of custom-made modules may be this, with additional CAPEX translating into a significantly higher
considered as quite significant factors. In summary, system prices LCOE. Bifacial costs are not visible in a system cost figure.
continued to go down in 2019, through a decrease in module

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 61

CHAPTER 6 COMPETITIVENESS OF PV ELECTRICITY IN 2019

SYSTEM PRICES / CONTINUED

RESIDENTIAL PV SYSTEMS might be explained by the local regulations, the size of the market
and the market segmentation which can be diverse.
System prices for residential PV systems reveal huge
discrepancies from one country to another: the final price of When analysing Figures 6.5 and 6.6, not surprisingly hardware costs
modules, but also the other price components, such as the represent a more important share in the total costs in the countries
inverter, the rest of the BoS and the installation costs. with higher hardware costs such as Austria, Japan and Korea.
The following figures illustrate such differences which in general

FIGURE 6.5: AVERAGE COST BREAKDOWN FOR A RESIDENTIAL PV SYSTEM < 10kW

100

80

60

40

20
Hardware costs

0
Soft costs
A

DA

LIA

A
N

A
EL

A
AN

AN
US

RE

RI

IN

SI
AI

PA

IU
RA
NA

RA

AY
ST
SP

CH
KO
LG
JA
RL

NL

IS

AU
ST

AL
CA

BE
ZE

FI

H
AU

M
UT
IT
SW

SO

SOURCE IEA PVPS.

FIGURE 6.6: RESIDENTIAL SYSTEM HARDWARE COST BREAKDOWN

2,5

2,0

1,5
USD/W

1,0

0,5
Others (Racking, wiring...)
Inverter

0
Module
A

A
N

DA
D

LIA
A

EL
AN

RI

RE

AN
SI

US

IN
PA

AI

IU

RA
NA

RA
AY
ST

SP

CH
KO

LG
JA

RL

NL

IS
AU

AL

ST
CA

BE
ZE

FI
H

AU
M

UT
IT
SW

SO

SOURCE IEA PVPS.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 62

CHAPTER 6 COMPETITIVENESS OF PV ELECTRICITY IN 2019

UTILITY-SCALE PV SYSTEMS
Disparities across countries can also be observed for utility-scale
PV systems prices even though these are less important than for
residential PV systems. Indeed, in most countries a large
dominance of hardware costs over soft costs can be observed.

FIGURE 6.7: AVERAGE COST BREAKDOWN FOR A UTILITY-SCALE PV SYSTEM > 10 MW

100

80

60

40

20
Hardware costs

0
Soft costs
N

DA

EL

CE
M

A
AN
RE

US

IN

SI
PA

IU
RA

AN
NA

AY
CH
KO

LG
JA

RL
IS

FR

AL
CA

BE

ZE
H

M
UT

IT
SW
SO

SOURCE IEA PVPS.

FIGURE 6.8: UTILITY-SCALE SYSTEM HARDWARE COST BREAKDOWN

1,4

1,2

1,0

0,8
USD/W

0,6

0,4
Others (Racking, wiring...)
0,2 Inverter

0
Module
A
N

CE

A
A

EL

DA
RE

AN

SI

US

IN
PA

IU

RA
AN

NA
AY

CH
KO

LG
JA

RL

IS
FR

AL

CA
BE
ZE
H

M
UT

IT
SW
SO

SOURCE IEA PVPS.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 63

CHAPTER 6 COMPETITIVENESS OF PV ELECTRICITY IN 2019

COST OF PV ELECTRICITY

In order to compete in the electricity sector, PV technologies need generate revenues of the same order as any centralized
to provide electricity at a cost equal to or below the cost of other production of electricity. Today this is often guaranteed for small
technologies. Obviously, power generation technologies are size installations by the possibility of receiving a FiT (or similar) for
providing electricity at different costs, depending on their nature, the injected electricity. Nevertheless, if we consider how PV could
the cost of fuel, the cost of maintenance and the number of become competitive, this will imply defining a way to price this
operating hours during which they are delivering electricity. electricity so that smaller producers will receive fair revenues.
The competitiveness of PV can be defined simply as the moment The second assumption implies that the full retail price of
when, in a given situation, PV can produce electricity at a cheaper electricity could be compensated. The price paid by electricity
price than other sources of electricity that could have delivered consumers is composed in general of four main components:
electricity at the same time. Therefore, the competitiveness of a
• The procurement price of electricity on electricity markets plus
PV system is linked to the location, the technology, the cost of
the margins of the reseller;
capital, and the cost of the PV system itself that highly depends on
the nature of the installation and its size. However, it will also • Grid costs and fees, partially linked to the consumption, partially
depend on the environment in which the system will operate. Off- fixed; the key challenge is their future evolution;
grid applications in competition with diesel-based generation will
not be competitive at the same moment as a large utility-scale PV • Taxes;
installation competing with the wholesale prices on electricity • Levies (used among other things to finance the incentives for
markets. The competitiveness of PV is connected to the type of some renewable sources, social programmes, solidarity
PV system and its environment. between regions etc.).
If the electricity procurement price can be obviously compensated,
GRID PARITY the two other components require considering the system impact of
Grid Parity (or Socket Parity) refers to the moment when PV can such a measure; with tax loss on one side and the lack of financing
produce electricity (the Levelised Cost of Electricity or LCOE) at a of distribution and transmission grids on the other. While the debate
price below the price of electricity consumed from the grid. While on taxes can be simple, since PV installations are generating taxes
this is valid for pure players (the so-called “grid price” refers to the as well, the one on grid financing is more complex. Even if self-
price of electricity on the market), this is based on two consumed electricity could be fully compensated, alternative ways
assumptions for prosumers (producers who are also consumers to finance the grid should be considered given the loss of revenues
of electricity): for grid operators or a better understanding of PV positive impacts
on the grid should be achieved.
• That PV electricity can be consumed locally (either in real time
or through some compensation scheme such as local or Figure 6.9 shows how grid parity has already been reached in
delocalized net metering); several countries and how declining electricity costs are paving the
way for more countries becoming competitive for PV. The figure
• That all the components of the retail price of electricity can be shows the range of retail prices in selected countries based on their
compensated when it has been produced by PV and locally average solar resource and the indicative PV electricity threshold
consumed. for three different system prices (0,5, 1 and 2 USD/Wp, converted
into LCOE). Green dots are cases where PV is competitive in most
However, it is assumed that the level of self-consumption that can
of the cases. Orange dots show where it really depends on the
be achieved with a system that provides up to the same amount
system prices and the retail prices of electricity. Red dots are only
of electricity as the local annual electricity consumption on a
competitive under very good conditions.
yearly basis, varies between less than 30% (residential
applications) and 100% (for some industrial applications) The specific case of BIPV consists, for new or renovated roofs, to
depending on the country and the location. assess the competitiveness for the BIPV solution minus the costs
of the traditional roofing (or façade) elements. The rest of the
Technical solutions will allow for increases in the self-consumption
assessment is similar to any building under self-consumption
level (demand-side management including EV charging or direct
using a standard BAPV solution. Of course, if the BIPV solution
use to heat water with heat pumps, local electricity storage,
has to be installed on a building outside of any planned works, this
reduction of the PV system size, delocalized self-consumption,
doesn’t apply. Metrics used for buildings can also be different,
energy communities, etc.).
since the integration of PV components might be justified by non-
If only a part of the electricity produced can be self-consumed, economic factors or the perspective of an added value. For such
then the remaining part must be injected into the grid and should reasons, BIPV competitiveness is in general assessed against the
traditional building costs.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 64

 6 PV
CHAPTER 1 TECHNOLOGY AND
COMPETITIVENESS OF APPLICATIONS
PV ELECTRICITY IN 2019

FIGURE 6.9: LCOE OF PV ELECTRICITY AS A FUNCTION OF SOLAR IRRADIANCE & RETAIL PRICES IN KEY MARKETS*

400
DENMARK

350
GERMANY
BELGIUM AUSTRALIA
Price of Electricity in USD/MWh

300 JAPAN
AUSTRIA SPAIN
ITALY
FINLAND SWITZERLAND
250 PORTUGAL
SWEDEN NETHERLANDS FRANCE
200
NORWAY
KOREA
GERMANY
CANADA AUSTRALIA
150
DENMARK AUSTRIA MALAYSIA
SWITZERLAND ITALY USA TURKEY PORTUGAL
100 JAPAN CHINA
BELGIUM FRANCE SPAIN
FINLAND NETHERLANDS
NORWAY CANADA MALAYSIA CHINA TURKEY
50 SWEDEN USA
USA
KOREA
0
800 900 1 000 1 100 1 200 1 300 1 400 1 500 1 600 1 700 1 800

YIELD kWh/kW/year

LCOE at 2 USD/Wp LCOE at 1 USD/Wp LCOE at 0,5 USD/Wp

*NOTE THE COUNTRY YIELD (SOLAR IRRADIANCE) HERE SHOWN MUST BE CONSIDERED AN AVERAGE. SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.

COMPETITIVENESS OF PV ELECTRICITY WITH WHOLESALE The key risk associated with such business models lies in the
ELECTRICITY PRICES evolution of wholesale market prices on the long term: it is known
that PV reduces prices during the midday peak when penetration
In countries with an electricity market, wholesale electricity prices
becomes significant. It has also been shown in recent years that
when PV produces are one benchmark of PV competitiveness.
such influence on prices still has a marginal impact on prices
These prices depend on the market organisation and the
during the entire year. With high penetration and the shift to
technology mix used to generate electricity. In order to be
electricity of transport and heating, the influence of PV electricity
competitive with these prices, PV electricity has to be generated
on the market price is not yet precisely known and could
at the lowest possible price. This is already achieved with large
represent (or not) an issue in the medium to long term: either
utility-scale PV installations that allow reaching the lowest system
prices during PV production will stay down and impair the ability
prices today with low maintenance costs and a low cost of capital.
to remunerate the investment or low prices will attract additional
Plants have been commissioned in 2019 in Spain, Germany or
demand and will stabilise the market prices. At this point, both
Chile which rely only on remuneration from electricity markets. It
options remain possible without possibilities to identify which one
is highly probable that energy-only markets will be completed by
will develop.
grid services and similar additional revenues. However, such
plants are already viable and calculations show that most of When a wholesale market doesn’t exist as such, (in China for
western European countries for instance, from Portugal to instance), the comparison point is the production cost of electricity
Finland, would be suitable for such PV plants with already 2019 from coal-fired power plants.
electricity prices. Such business models remain however riskier
than conventional ones that guarantee prices paid to the producer
over 15 years or more.

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 CHAPTER 6 COMPETITIVENESS OF PV ELECTRICITY IN 2019

COST OF PV ELECTRICITY / CONTINUED

FUEL-PARITY AND OFF-GRID SYSTEMS Spain, the cost of PV electricity should reach lower levels, while
the cost of electrolysers should decrease as well to make green
Off-grid systems including hybrid PV/diesel can be considered
hydrogen competitive. This perspective is not so far away, and
competitive when PV can provide electricity at a cheaper cost
some start to envisage a possible competitiveness in the coming
than the conventional generator. For some off-grid applications,
years for specific uses of hydrogen. While the competitiveness
the cost of the battery bank and the charge controller should be
with “black” hydrogen seems still unreachable for the time being,
considered in the upfront and maintenance costs while a hybrid
other uses in transport, some industrial applications and possibly
system will consider the cost of fuel saved by the PV system.
agriculture (through ammonia), might create a tremendous
The point at which PV competitiveness will be reached for these opportunity for PV to produce hydrogen without being connected
hybrid systems takes into account fuel savings due to the to the grid. Such a development would increase possibly the PV
reduction of operating hours of the generator. Fuel-parity refers to market significantly outside of the constraints it experiences for
the moment in time when the installation of a PV system can be the time being.
financed with fuel savings only. It is assumed that PV has reached
fuel-parity, based on fuel prices, in numerous Sunbelt countries.
RECORD LOW TENDERS
Other off-grid systems are often not replacing existing generation
With several countries having adopted tenders as a way to
sources but providing electricity in places with no network and no
allocate PPAs to PV projects, the value of these PPAs achieved
or little use of diesel generators. They represent a completely new
record low levels again in 2019. These levels are sufficiently low
way to provide electricity to hundreds of millions of people all over
to be mentioned since they approach, or in many cases beat, the
the world.
price of wholesale electricity in several countries. While these
tenders do not represent the majority of PV projects, they have
PRODUCING COMPETITIVE GREEN HYDROGEN WITH PV shown the ability of PV technology to provide extremely cheap
electricity under the condition of a low system price (below
The declining cost of PV electricity opens the door for other 0,6 USD/Wp) and a low cost of capital. At the moment of writing
applications and especially the possible production of “green” these lines, the latest records were 13,20 USD/MWh in Portugal,
hydrogen directly from PV (possibly in combination with wind). 13,53 USD/MWh in the United Arab Emirates and
While the business model behind is being explored, in particular in 14,49 USD/MWh for PV projects in Qatar to be built in the coming
Australia, Chile, China, France, Japan, Korea, Portugal and years, under specific conditions. Many other winning bids globally

FIGURE 6.10: NORMALIZED LCOE FOR SOLAR PV BASED ON RECENT PPA PRICES 2016 - Q3 2020

150

PERU

100
MEXICO
ARGENTINA ARGENTINA
INDIA GREECE
USD/MWh

GERMANY
UAE CHILE FRANCE GREECE
INDIA FRANCE TUNISIA
BRAZIL
UAE ARGENTINA INDIA INDIA
BRAZIL
GERMANY
50 ETHIOPIA INDIA
CHILE GERMANY JORDAN GERMANY
TUNISIA
UAE
BRAZIL QATAR
MEXICO

PORTUGAL PORTUGAL
0
Jan Apr Jul Oct Jan Apr Jul Oct Jan Apr Jul Oct Jan Apr Jul Oct Jan Apr Jul
2016 2016 2016 2016 2017 2017 2017 2017 2018 2018 2018 2018 2019 2019 2019 2019 2020 2020 2020

With Yield = 2 000 kWh/kWp With Yield = 1 000 kWh/kWp With Original Tenders

SOURCE IEA PVPS, BECQUEREL INSTITUTE.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 66

 1 PV
CHAPTER 6 COMPETITIVENESS
TECHNOLOGY AND
OF APPLICATIONS
PV ELECTRICITY IN 2019

COMMENTS ON GRID PARITY AND COMPETITIVENESS

TABLE 6.3: TOP 10 LOWEST WINNING BIDS IN
Finally, the concept of Grid Parity remains an interesting
PV TENDERS FOR UTILTY SCALE PV SYSTEMS
benchmark but should not be considered as the moment when PV
is competitive by itself in a given environment. On the contrary, it
REGION COUNTRY/STATE USD/MWh YEAR
shows how complex the notion of competitiveness can be and
EUROPE PORTUGAL 13,2 2020 how it should be treated with caution. Countries that are
MIDDLE EAST UAE 13,5 2020 approaching competitiveness are experiencing such complexity:
MIDDLE EAST QATAR 14,5 2020 Many European countries have retail electricity prices that are
EUROPE PORTUGAL 16,6 2019
above the LCOE of a PV system. However, considering the self-
consumption and grid constraints, they have not reached
LATIN AMERICA BRAZIL 17,5 2019
competitiveness yet. For these reasons, the concept of Grid Parity
NORTH AMERICA MEXICO 20,6 2017 should be used with caution and should take into consideration all
LATIN AMERICA CHILE 21,5 2017 necessary parameters. Finally, PV remains an investment like
MIDDLE EAST UAE 24,2 2016 many others. The relatively high level of certainty during a long
LATIN AMERICA CHILE 24,4 2016 period of time should not hide the possible failures and incidents.
Hedging such risks has a cost in terms of insurance and the
LATIN AMERICA CHILE 24,4 2016
expected return on investment should establish itself at a level
EURO exchange rate adapted in september 2020. SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.
1 EURO = 1.12 USD that comprises both the low project risk (and therefore the low
expected return) as well as hedging costs.

reached a level below 35 USD/MWh. Low PPAs were granted in

2019 in the USA but with the help of the 30% tax credit and
accelerated 5-year tax depreciation. Beginning in 2020, the tax
credits gradually decrease to 10% for commercially owned
systems and expire for systems owned by individuals. In Europe,
projects linked to tenders represent the most competitive PV
installations and their share is growing as more and more market
segments are shifting to this type of procurement. See Table 6.3
for a view of the top 10 most competitive tenders’ prices. The
tenders in Portugal seem significant below the levels of costs that
PV could reach for the time being and indicate the rise of new
business models which can also comprise bets on future
wholesale prices developments.

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SIX // CHAPTER 6 COMPETITIVENESS OF PV ELECTRICITY IN 2016 68
CHAPTER 6 COMPETITIVENESS OF PV ELECTRICITY IN 2018
VPS
IEA-P

seven
PV IN THE ENERGY SECTOR

PV ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION Decommissioning

As an increasing share of the global installed PV capacity is
attaining a certain lifetime - with the very first waves of
Tracking of PV Installed Capacity and Monitoring of PV installations dating back to the nineties - decommissioning must
Production be considered to estimate the PV capacity. However, the effect
Tracking PV installations in all the regions of the world can be might still be limited at the global scale as less than 0,1% of the
challenging as many countries do not accurately keep track of the cumulative capacity has been installed before the year 2000 and
PV systems installed or do not make the data publicly available. only 6% before the year 2010. Furthermore, when available,
official numbers should take decommissioning into account, which
Furthermore, PV electricity production is easy to measure at a is the case for most IEA PVPS countries. In that respect, off-grid
power plant but much more complicated to compile for an entire numbers in several countries have decreased due to
country. First, the installed capacity must be accurately tracked, decommissioning. Recycling numbers are underestimating
which requires an effective and consistent approach, especially decommissioning due to a vivid (and sometimes barely legal)
for distributed and off-grid segments. Second, the electricity second-hand market, especially towards Africa.
production cannot accurately be derived from the installed PV
capacity at a certain point in time. Indeed, a system installed at the PV Performance Losses
end of the year will have produced only a small fraction of its The calculation of the evolution of a PV system performance is
theoretical annual electricity output. For these reasons, the crucial to provide more accurate values to be used in yield
electricity production from PV per country in this report is an assessments not only in terms of absolute value. In order to be
estimate that we will call “average theoretical production”. able to judge a system performance, the performance loss (PL)
To calculate the average theoretical PV production, the average must be calculated. The calculation of PL in PV systems is not
solar yield in the country is used. The number has been provided trivial as the “true” value remains unknown. Several
through National Survey Reports, as well as additional sources methodologies have been proposed, however there is no
and is an approximation of the reality. consensus and thus a standardized approach to the calculation.
The combination of temperature corrected PR with the use of
Year on Year or STL performs very well compared to others.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 68

CHAPTER 7 PV IN THE ENERGY SECTOR

Within the IEA PVPS Task 13, a group of experts representing PV PENETRATION
several leading R&D centers, universities and industry companies,
is developing a framework for the calculation of Performance Loss
Rates (PLR) on a large number of commercial and research PV PV electricity penetration is the ratio between PV electricity
power plants and related weather data coming from various production in a country and the electricity demand in that country
climatic zones. Various methodologies are applied for the and is expressed as a percentage. Electricity demand is obtained
calculation of PLR, which are benchmarked in terms of via publicly available databases and via the IEA PVPS experts.
uncertainties and “true” values. The aim of the international
collaboration is to show how to calculate the PLR on high quality Figure 7.1 shows how PV theoretically contributes to the
data (high time resolution, reliable data, irradiance, yield, etc.) and electricity demand in IEA PVPS countries and other major markets,
on low quality data (low time resolution, only energy data based on the PV capacity at the end of 2019. Germany is the
available). Various algorithms and models, along with different number one country in the IEA PVPS network with 9,0% of PV
time averaging and filtering criteria, can be applied for the PLR penetration based on the installed capacity at the end of 2019.
calculation, each of which can have an impact on the results. The Australia is following with 8,7%. Italy and Japan are next with
approach considers three pathways to ensure broad collaboration respectively 7,6% and 7,3%. Spain reaches 6,4% and Chile 6,3%.
and increase the statistical relevance of the study and the The Netherlands are above the 6% mark with 6.1% PV penetration
combination of metrics (PR or power based). Furthermore, followed by Belgium with 4,9%. The last PVPS countries above the
methodologies are benchmarked in terms of deviation from the 3% mark are Israel (4,7%), Turkey (4,2%), Switzerland (3,8%),
average value and in terms of standard deviation. China (3,8%), Denmark (3,8%) and Mexico (3,2%).
Finally, Portugal, Thailand, Austria, United States, Korea,
France, and South Africa are below the world average and below
the 3% threshold, followed by Malaysia below the 2% threshold
and by Canada, Sweden, Finland and Norway which are below
the 1% threshold.

FIGURE 7.1: PV CONTRIBUTION TO THE ELECTRICITY DEMAND IN 2019

12

10

% 6

0
M AS

ITA A
RA Y

JA LY
GR AN

TH I ILE

I M

TU RIA

UK

H M D

W LIC

IA
KO SA

OV CA

RW D
AY
AU RM A

SP E
N

LA IA
LG S

LG EL

EY

CZ D RLA A

PU K

M RLD
RT ICO
A I AL
D
OV IA

A N

B IA
FR REA

UT AI E

A L
NA A
E A
NL N
A L ZI
C

SO T ANC
BE ND
ST AN
T

RE AR
LI

EC EN N

AU AN

N O AN
Z E IN

CA YSI
SW D
AI

H WA

FI DE
IU

EN
ER ND

AK
SL STR
BU SRA
GE AL

EE

RK

T H UG

SL F R I
UR

U
H
P

M RA
A

PO EX
I T CH

O
C

L
ND
HO

SW
NE

PVPS countries Non-PVPS countries

SOURCE SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 69

CHAPTER 7 PV IN THE ENERGY SECTOR

PV PENETRATION / CONTINUED

TABLE 7.1: 2019 PV ELECTRICITY STATISTICS IN IEA PVPS COUNTRIES

COUNTRY FINAL HABITANTS GDP SURFACE AVERAGE PV ANNUAL PV PV ANNUAL CUMULATIVE CUMULATIVE THEORETICAL
ELECTRICITY 2019 2019 YIELD INSTALLED CUMULATIVE ELECTRICITY CAPACITY CAPACITY CAPACITY PV
CONSUMPTION CAPACITY INSTALLED PRODUCTION PER PER PER km2 PENETRATION
2019 2019 CAPACITY CAPITA CAPITA
2019

TWh MILLION BUSD km2 kWh/kWp MW MW TWh W/cap W/cap kW/km2 %

AUSTRALIA 264 26 1 393 7 690 000 1 400 4 758 16 344 23 187 641 2 8.7%
AUSTRIA 65 9 446 84 000 1 050 247 1 702 2 28 193 20 2.7%
BELGIUM 85 11 530 33 688 925 587 4 861 4 51 423 144 4.9%
CANADA 540 38 1 736 9 985 000 1 150 232 3 326 4 6 88 0 0.7%
CHILE 73 19 282 756 096 1 699 288 2 694 5 15 142 4 6.3%
CHINA 7 230 1 400 14 343 9 634 000 1 350 30 100 205 242 277 22 147 21 3.8%
DENMARK 33 6 348 44 000 925 109 1 362 1 19 234 31 3.8%
FINLAND 86 6 269 390 908 875 81 214 0 14 38 1 0.2%
FRANCE 473 67 2 716 543 965 1 160 966 9 934 12 14 148 18 2.4%
GERMANY 531 83 3 846 357 170 978 3 835 49 016 48 46 590 137 9.0%
ISRAEL 73 9 395 22 070 1 797 556 1 914 3 61 211 87 4.7%
ITALY 320 60 2 001 301 336 1 164 758 20 865 24 13 346 69 7.6%
JAPAN 906 126 5 082 377 962 1 050 7 031 63 192 66 56 500 167 7.3%
KOREA 520 52 1 642 100 401 1 137 3 130 11 229 13 60 217 112 2.5%
MALAYSIA 149 33 365 330 621 1 314 499 1 417 2 15 43 4 1.3%
MEXICO 270 128 1 258 1 964 380 1 708 1 926 5 001 9 15 39 3 3.2%
NETHERLANDS 111 17 909 41 500 994 2 352 6 874 7 136 397 166 6.1%
NORWAY 135 5 403 385 178 882 51 118 0 10 22 0 0.1%
PORTUGAL 47 10 238 92 220 1 600 155 827 1 15 81 9 2.8%
SPAIN 269 47 1 394 505 940 1 745 4 751 9 910 17 101 211 20 6.4%
SWEDEN 132 10 531 407 284 900 291 720 1 28 69 2 0.5%
SWITZERLAND 58 9 703 41 285 980 325 2 498 2 38 291 61 4.3%
SOUTH AFRICA 193 59 351 1 219 090 1 733 151 2 560 4 3 44 2 2.3%
THAILAND 194 70 544 1 219 092 1 522 16 3 529 5 0 51 3 2.8%
TURKEY 303 83 754 783 560 1 500 1 398 8 547 13 17 102 11 4.2%
USA 4 153 329 21 428 9 147 282 1 416 13 272 75 770 107 40 230 8 2.6%
WORLD 24 700 7 674 87 752 134 325 435 1 300 111 585 623 234 810 15 81 5 3.3%

Outside the IEA PVPS network, Honduras is taking the lead with problems or external constraints. The real PV production in a
11,8%, followed by the islands of Malta with 11,3%. Greece ranks country is difficult to assess, especially when self-consumption
third with 7,1% in 2019. India reached 6,1%, Bulgaria 4,4%, and storage enter into consideration. IEA PVPS advocates for
followed by UK (3,9%) and Czech Republic (3,5%). governments and energy stakeholders, including grid operators to
create accurate databases and measure precisely PV production.
Many other countries have lower production numbers, but in total
33 countries produced at least 1% of their electricity demand from Concerning global PV penetration, with around 623,2 GW installed
PV in 2019. worldwide, PV could produce more than 810 TWh (see Table 7.1)
of electricity on a yearly basis. With the world’s electricity
Real figures might be lower since some installations didn’t
consumption of 24 700 TWh in 2019, this represents around 3,3%
produce electricity during the entire year, but also since some
of the global electricity demand covered by PV as presented in
plants might have experienced production issues, due to technical
Figure 7.2. Performances losses due to aging of PV plants are not
considered at this point.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 70

CHAPTER 7 PV IN THE ENERGY SECTOR

Figure 7.3 shows the newly installed renewable capacity in 2019. Australia kept its place as a leading country for batteries with some
Solar PV was the top source of new power generating capacity in large-scale installations, the market reached over 2,7 GWh
2019. For the fourth year in a row, newly installed renewable energy cumulative installation and is expected to achieve a staggering
sources outpaced net additions of fossil fuels and nuclear power 12,9 GWh of cumulative storage deployments over the next five
combined5 and accounted for 72% of all power expansion. years. Next are the United States with 1 GW installed at the end of
2019, only a small part of the nation’s cumulative solar generation
In 2019, PV represented 63% of the world’s newly installed
capacity equipped with battery storage. However, this number is
capacity of renewables, excluding hydropower. Wind power
expected to double between 2020 and 2022. In Germany, the
represented 33% with 60,4 GW installed.
200 000 installations threshold was reached at the end of 2019, with
over 65 000 new rooftop-PV linked storage systems in 2019 only.
Globally, the largest part of batteries sold are used for transportation
PV INTEGRATION AND in EVs, stationary storage remains the exception and volumes
remain small. However, the rapid development of electric mobility is
SECTOR COUPLING driving battery prices down much faster than any could have
expected in the stationary market alone. This could give a huge push
to the development of storage as a tool to ease PV installations in
THE ENERGY STORAGE MARKET some specific conditions. In addition, new requirements for grid
In general, battery storage is seen by some as an opportunity to integration in tenders tend to favour the use of stationary batteries in
solve some grid integration issues linked to PV and to increase the utility-scale plants to smooth the output of the plant, reduce
self-consumption ratio of distributed PV plants. Despite their curtailment or reduce the need for grid capacity reinforcement,
decreasing costs, such solutions are not yet economically viable in however this trend would require some more years to be confirmed.
all countries and market segments. However, the adoption of
batteries is on the rise both in the residential segments and in the THE ELECTRIFICATION OF TRANSPORT, HEATING
commercial segments as more and more consumers are willing to AND COOLING
maximise their self-consumption and to optimize their
consumption profile. The decarbonation of the energy sector will require electricity to
become the main vector for applications that used to consume
More large-scale PV plants are being built in combination with fossil fuels, directly or indirectly. In this respect, the development
batteries, which can be used to stabilize grid injection, reduce of solar heating and cooling hasn’t experienced major
curtailment, and, in some cases, to provide ancillary services to developments in 2019, contrary to electric mobility that starts to
the grid. The displacement of energy towards the evening peak develop quickly in several countries: The market is expected to
allow benefiting from higher wholesale market prices and changes take off in China, as 12% of all cars sold in China in 2020 should be
the injection pattern of PV. An increasing number of tenders are fully electric or plug-in hybrids. The Chinese government also
requiring PV to be installed with storage. intends to establish national supply chains for hydrogen
generation and fuel cell vehicles for 2024.

FIGURE 7.2: SHARE OF RENEWABLE IN THE GLOBAL FIGURE 7.3: NEW RENEWABLE INSTALLED CAPACITY
ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION IN 2019 IN 2019

WIND, 6% HYDROPOWER, 9%
PV, 3%
OTHER RES (HYDRO
NOT INCLUDED), 5%
HYDRO POWER, 16% FOSSIL &
NUCLEAR, 73%

PV, 63%
OTHER RES, 3%
WIND ONSHORE, 30%

WIND OFFSHORE, 3%

SOURCE REN21, IEA PVPS. SOURCE REN21, IEA PVPS.

5 Source: REN21Global Status Report.

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CHAPTER 7 PV IN THE ENERGY SECTOR

PV INTEGRATION AND SECTOR COUPLING / CONTINUED

PV could make EVs greener faster From PV to VIPV

The shift from fossil fuels to electricity for individual With its distributed nature, PV fits perfectly with EV charging
transportation and especially cars and light-duty vehicles is a during the day when cars are stationed in the offices parking
necessary step towards the decarbonization of the transport or at home. Such slow charging is also highly compatible with
sector. However, the real emissions of GHG for EVs depend on distribution grid constraints. Finally, the integration of PV in
the power mix used to charge cars. In countries with a power the vehicles themselves, the so-called VIPV, also offers
mix heavily relying on fossil fuels, the emissions will remain opportunities to alleviate the burden on the grid, increase the
higher than in countries with a renewable or carbon-free mix. autonomy of EVs and connects the automotive and PV
sectors. 2018 and 2019 showed announcements from
In that respect, some initiatives popped up in the recent months
several manufacturers, especially in Japan and Korea, but
in Europe to connect the fast development of the EV market to
also Germany and the Netherlands, for VIPV systems
renewables and especially PV. The idea to propose to the
integrated in EVs. The IEA PVPS Task 17 deals with this fast-
automotive industry to decarbonize completely electric vehicles
emerging subject.
would imply to sell renewable energy contracts or, easier,
shares in PV plants, when an EV is brought to the market.

A growing number of countries and cities have announced partial The role of PV as an enabler of that energy transition is more and
or total banning of internal combustion engines, often for a more obvious and the idea of powering mobility with solar is
combination of climate targets and air quality measures. Amongst becoming slowly a reality as an increasing number of commercial
the early adopter of such plans, Canada, France and Sri Lanka partnerships combine EV charging stations to solar systems for
have announced that fossil-fuelled cars will be banned from the private and public use.
market from 2040, while Norway is more ambitious and is aiming
for 2025 through tax and usage incentives. Other countries
THE ELECTRIFICATION OF HEATING AND COOLING
followed, such as Iceland, Ireland, Israel, the Netherlands,
Slovenia with proposed introduction of the measures in 2030. The The recent development of PV self-consumption especially in
only countries to implement total bans on internal combustion Europe has created new opportunities to use solar electricity for
engines are the Netherlands, Singapore and Sri Lanka. specific buildings appliances.
The Government of China and Korea have announced plans to Among others, even if the solar production is not directly linked
expand the domestic production of eco-friendly vehicles. In to consumption load in the case of space heating, it is becoming
Korea, the cumulative target is of 430 0000 EVs and 65 000 a real source of interest to use solar PV electricity to feed
hydrogen fuel cell vehicles by 2022. To achieve these goals, the electric domestic hot water tanks for instance. Hot water tanks
obligatory purchase percentage of eco-friendly vehicles by public can also serve as storage and can be successfully combined with
entities will rise to 100% by 2020 and 2 000 hydrogen buses will a heat pump.
be deployed by 2022. Charging infrastructures for EVs and
hydrogen fuel cell cars will be prepared by local governments with Several European manufacturers of electric domestic hot water
support from the central government. tanks are now offering specific electronic devices to directly link
extra PV production to an electric boiler. Hot water tanks allow to
With more than 2 million electric vehicles sold in the world in 2019, increase the self-consumption and to store the PV production.
the automotive sector is moving rapidly towards the electricity
industry and most automotive manufacturers have announced For instance, in France, some electric utilities are more and more
plans to expand their portfolio of electric-powered vehicles. interested in partially converting the nearly 15 TWh used yearly
during night to heat domestic hot water into usable thermal
Another remarkable trend concerning electric mobility is the rise energy storage for green electricity. The challenge is even more
of electric two wheelers. In Germany, 40 000 electric cargo- pressing in the short term for non-interconnected territories such
bikes were sold in 2018. E-bike popularity has been growing as Corsica and overseas territories.
recently in some European countries, where they represent a
clean and efficient alternative to four-wheel transport not just by Another very promising segment in the use of solar PV electricity
privates but also professionals. Whereas in Asian countries, e- is the use for cooling. Beyond Europe, a lot of countries are very
scooters have been more successful and are expected to further interested in the link between addressing the very rapidly
lead the EV market. increasing energy need for air conditioning due to the very
attractive present and future cost of PV electricity.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 72

 1 PV IN
CHAPTER 7 TECHNOLOGY
THE ENERGYAND
SECTOR
APPLICATIONS

China is at the forefront worldwide for the supply of PV air- completely) exonerated from transport grid costs to allow
conditioning solutions, mainly in the domestic household segment. increasing the value of locally generated and used electricity. This
could be applied to a range of situations, from apartment owners
For larger coupling, no real commercial products are available.
with a collective rooftop PV system to a neighbourhood with
Nevertheless, more and more design of solar PV systems based
multiple PV prosumers.
on self-consumption are linked to some specific use of adapted
water chillers including cold water storage. In the case of collective self-consumption with a focus on
electricity exchanges, the proximity of the consumers is not a
This axis of innovation to convert green electricity in cooling and
prerequisite anymore. Therefore, the main objective is to optimize
cold storage is therefore seen by the IEA PVPS Tasks as a very
the overall production and consumption profile to benefit from
promising way to absorb the peak production of PV, especially in
better electricity prices or to deliver grid services such as
sunny emerging economies. Indeed, places where grid stress is
balancing. The opportunities opened by such concepts range from
very present in summertime, benefiting from solar cooling and
charging an electric vehicle in a distant location with PV electricity
cooling thermal storage based on local PV production can
produced at home, to installing a utility-scale plant to power
become a very powerful tool.
several buildings. Using PV electricity in a geographically distant
The use of solar energy, namely solar PV and solar thermal, for location implies the use of the distribution or even transmission
cooling is profiting from July 2020 a specific IEA SHC Task called grid and would require putting a fair price on such use.
Task 65 (https://task65.iea-shc.org/) which will focus worldwide on
If both models allow to activate the distributed flexibility potential,
innovative ways to adapt and develop existing technologies (solar
smart digital tools will often be a prerequisite to avoid response
and heat pumps) for sunny and hot climates.
fatigue in the long term and even more so to insure the delivery
of reliable grid services. Most of the energy consumption and the
potential for load management of households is related to
PV COMMUNITIES AND COLLECTIVE transport and heating, there also digital tools will be essential to
SELF-CONSUMPTION MODELS provide load shifting without loss of comfort.
The concept of collective/delocalized self-consumption allows to
create additional value for both producers and consumers through
a virtual metering, based on a transfer of excess energy between
participating consumers. Grid operators should benefit from
collective self-consumption as well as the consumption should be
ELECTRIC UTILITIES INVOLVEMENT IN PV
more synchronized with the production.
In this section, the word “Utilities” will be used to qualify
The European definitions provide a good starting point to discuss
electricity producers and retailers, not the grid management
the development potential of different models of collective self-
activities. In some parts of the world, especially in Europe, the
consumption models:
management of the electricity network is now separated from
• Citizen Energy Community (CEC) which focusses on electricity the electricity generation and selling business. This section will
and the level playing field on the market, then focus on the role of electricity producers and retailers in
developing the PV market.
• Renewable Energy Community (REC) which only includes
renewable energy sources and is limited to members located in In Austria, many electricity utilities started public participation
the proximity of the renewable assets, models for PV, others are selling PV systems. The electric cars
development might further push PV, since many utilities offer EV
• Jointly acting renewables self-consumers which focus on the services and install charging stations; thus the direct link to the
share of renewable electricity within the same building or multi- use of electricity out of renewables is visible. Nearly all larger
apartment block. utilities are meanwhile promoting PV for private houses,
In practice, emerging PV communities and collective self- industries or multifamily solutions. Because of the ambitious
consumption initiatives can often be attributed to one of these governmental plans to add another 11 GW to the existing 1,7 GW
three definitions; however, mixed models also exist. Nonetheless, until 2030, many electricity companies are currently planning very
the distinction between both models provide a good basis to large PV systems in the multi MW range.
discuss the opportunities, constraints, and advantages of In Denmark many utilities introduced PV technology in their portfolio
collective self-consumption. and selling systems. Now when the marked is more mature and
In the case of collective self-consumption driven by a group of competitive the utilities have made marked exit. They are now
prosumers, in a limited geographical area (REC), the main goal developing larger utility scale projects for their own RE portfolio.
might be to increase the local self-consumption and the local
penetration of renewables through local storage and demand side
management. This energy consumed locally could be (partially or

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CHAPTER 7 PV IN THE ENERGY SECTOR

ELECTRIC UTILITIES INVOLVEMENT IN PV / CONTINUED

In Finland, several utility companies have started to sell and install A few utilities have started to work with centralized PV parks.
turnkey PV systems as a product for residential houses and Since there are no subsidies for large-scale PV parks in Sweden,
commercial buildings. They either make the installations by except for the green electricity certificate system and some direct
themselves or have contracts with installation companies. In June capital subsidies, the utility companies had to test different
2017, most utility companies have announced offers to buy financial arrangements and business models such as share-
surplus electricity from micro-PV plants. In general, the utilities owned PV parks, power purchase agreements and PV electricity
pay the Nord Pool Spot Finland area price of the surplus electricity offers to end consumers.
without VAT 24%, which is roughly one-third of the retail
In Switzerland, an increasing number of electricity utilities are
electricity price.
entering the PV business. Especially the larger utilities who have
In France, EDF and ENGIE are both major international players, their own non-solar electricity production facilities, have been
with a large international portfolio covering both fossil (and under increasing financial pressure, due to falling electricity prices
nuclear) and renewable energies. There are no legal or regulatory on the European market, and are therefore expanding their
barriers to their active involvement in photovoltaics generation in business activities. Due to the private-public status of most of the
France, although EDF must demonstrate a complete separation of utilities (they are typically owned by the communities and the
its public service delegations (network management, electricity cantons) this development is not always viewed positively by the
contracts on government regulated prices) and commercial incumbent PV installation companies.
activities. EDF Renouvelables (EDF Renewable for the
In Japan, following full liberalization of electricity retailing in 2016,
international branch), a subsidiary of EDF, EDF Renouvelables
new players entered electricity retailing business one after
Services (O&M services in Europe), and EDF Energie Nouvelles
another. The number of registered electric retailers was 619 (as of
Réparties (EDF ENR), its own subsidiary, are all active in France.
December 2019) and these Power Producers and Suppliers (PPS)
EDF ENR is active in the residential market. A second subsidiary
and the former General Electricity Utilities that used to conduct
company, EDF EN Photowatt, is a photovoltaics manufacturer.
regional monopolistic business are competing in the electricity
EDF is also active in R&D activities through both EDF internal
market. Although the share of PPS increased to 16,2% (as of
research departments, research partnerships with public research
December 2019), the situation of the electricity market in which
organisations and Photowatt. Local authorities deploy mandatory
former General Electricity Utilities are dominant remains
and voluntary climate action plans and ambitious photovoltaics
unchanged and the same situation is observed in the power
goals are becoming frequent. Furthermore, investment on
generation sector. The share of trading quantity on the Japan
infrastructure belonging to local authorities is accelerating, either
Electric Power Exchange (JEPX) rose to 39,5% (as of December
through direct investment or by third party investment
2019). The effects of gross bidding, etc. by former General
(commercial, private-public investment vehicles or citizen-led).
Electricity Utilities to revitalize the trading have been observed.
In Germany, energy companies such as E.ON and RWE, listed in the As a final phase of the Electricity System Reform, legal separation
top five leaders affecting the electricity market and production, have of the power transmission sector and the power distribution
recently signed a transaction agreement according to which they sector of the former General Electricity Utilities was carried out by
are creating two focused European energy companies. E.ON plans April 2020. Accordingly, some electric utilities were preparing for
to acquire RWE’s stake in Innogy in return and aims at becoming a the separation of power transmission and distribution business as
game changer in the decentralized energy world while RWE will separate companies.
work to become one of the European leaders for renewable energy
In Malaysia, behind-the-meter PV businesses enables PV
and security supply. They are developing new innovative solutions
investors to provide leasing or PPA services to customers who do
for the PV market to target PV on rooftop customers (e.g. Google
not wish to go for an outright purchase option. Under the leasing
Sunroof, E.ON SolarCloud, E.ON Aura solar systems) providing PV
or PPA model, counterparty risks exist when customers do not
and storage-based solution for end-consumers.
pay to the PV investors. The national utility came up with an
In Sweden, several utility companies started in 2012 to market innovative package to provide billing, collection, and remittance
small turnkey PV systems suited for roofs of residential houses. services to PV investors by including the billing of the PV investors
These utility companies have in common that most of them in the prosumers' monthly electricity bills. Additionally, SARE
collaborate with local Swedish installation companies that provide provides deed of assignments to allow the payment collected
the actual system and execute the installation. Only a few of them from customers to be channelled to financial institutions that
have the installation competence and product distribution lines in- financed the PV investors’ projects. Under the SARE, TNB, the PV
house. One utility company, Umeå Energi also offer leasing of PV investor and the customer entered into a tripartite agreement and
system to private persons. Furthermore, in 2011, several utility with TNB on board, the project is attractive to the financial
companies started introducing compensation schemes for buying institutions as the PPA is bankable and this is helpful for the small
the excess electricity produced by micro-producers. This trend medium enterprises/industries.
continues, and more and more utility companies now have
various offers for the micro-producer's excess electricity, their
green electricity certificates and guarantees of origin.

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 1 PV IN
CHAPTER 7 TECHNOLOGY
THE ENERGYAND
SECTOR
APPLICATIONS

In China in March 2019, the National Energy Administration As utility scale solar has become increasingly competitive with
issued the "Pilot Work on Further Promoting the Construction of retail generation, four broad categories of utility solar business
Power Spot Market. The Exposure Draft proposed to establish a models have emerged in the United States: utility ownership of
spot trading mechanism to promote clean energy consumption. In assets, utility financing of assets, development of customer
the initial stage of the spot market operation, clean energy can be programs, and utility purchase of solar output
used to participate in the spot market transactions by means of
In Australia, the businesses that make up the electricity industry
put forward volume without quotation, priority is given to clean
have collectively recognised the inevitability of solar power
energy as a price recipient to clearing out and achieve priority
rolling out across Australia, and most have opted to play a
consumption. In 2019, all six provincial-level power spot market
constructive role.
pilots in the State Grid’s operating areas have started trial
operation to encourage new energy to participate in the market Solar is impacting the energy market operation both technically
and take advantage of low marginal costs to achieve and financially. Financially, PV is reducing the amount of energy
consumption. In August, all eight provincial-level power spot transported and sold, thereby impacting revenues of the grid
markets were put into trial operation. operators and the energy suppliers. PV is also introducing more
volatility on the wholesale electricity prices both reducing the
In Canada, given the diversity in market structures, the interest
price on sunny days and increasing the price when not available
from electricity utility businesses is equally variable. In general,
when demand is peaking. Price volatility is needed to create the
many utilities offer lease-to-own programs.
market incentives to develop flexibility and storage for instance.
The USA have a diverse deregulated utility landscape in which Technical issues most commonly relate to local grid congestion
roughly 68% of consumers are served by an investor owned utility and to inverter response to system disturbance and impacts upon
and the remaining customers are served by municipal utilities or local voltages.
cooperatives. Utilities are regulated at the local, state, and federal
In addition to conventional utilities, PV developers could be the
level by PUCs, ratepayer groups and federal agencies such as the
utilities of tomorrow, developing, operating and trading PV
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to ensure they
electricity on the markets. Many newly created companies have
provide fair and reliable service to their customers. Transmission
succeeded in developing impressive renewable energy portfolios
is regulated by Independent System Operators (ISO) or Regional
over the years. Thereby, renewable energy and most particularly
Transmission Organizations, depending on region. Electricity
PV are reshuffling the distribution between historical and
utility interest in solar continues to increase in the United States.
emerging actors.

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CHAPTER 7 PV IN THE ENERGY SECTOR © Imec

ELECTRIC UTILITIES INVOLVEMENT IN PV

/ CONTINUED

eight
LATEST TRENDS AND
RESEARCHDEVELOPMENTS
IN THE IEA PVPS TASKS

TASK 12: STATUS OF C-SI PV

RECYCLING IN SELECT WORLD REGIONS

EUROPE JAPAN
Europe is the only continent with dedicated c-Si PV recycling Twenty-three companies have been listed as accepting and
facilities operating commercially, as of early 2019. (Cadmium “properly treating” PV modules in Japan (JPEA, 2019). However,
telluride (CdTe) thin film PV modules have been recycled at only one of these companies specializes in recycling PV modules,
commercial scale for over 10 years, reaching nearly 4 500 tonne though its process is limited to detaching the frames and separating
in 2017 (First Solar, 2018).) The largest facility, in France, front glass from the back sheet and it has processed approximately
currently can mechanically process 1 300 tonne/yr, with planned 32 500 modules through February 2019 (PVTechnoCycle, 2019;
expansion to 4 000 tonne/yr in 2022 (Veolia, 2018). Another PV- NPC Incorporated, 2019). The other companies are intermediate
dedicated recycling facility is under development in Germany and processors of more common kinds of industrial waste (e-waste,
is expected to use pyrolysis with a combination of mechanical and cars, etc.) whose main function is to separate bulk materials and
electrochemical processes to achieve 90% total mass recovery, send them to more specialized recyclers (e.g., of metals, glass).
including trace metals (Suez, 2018). Its announced scale is Almost all these companies use a mechanical approach such as
approximately 137 modules/day. Both facilities received funding shredding and sorting and do not use specialized equipment for PV
for process development from the European Commission. modules. Currently, silicon is not a target for recovery because of
Meanwhile, statistics about EoL modules are being collected and low value in the Japanese market. The Japanese government
reported in several countries (Table 8.1). Most PV modules estimates that 4 400 tonne/yr of PV waste are generated currently
recycled in Europe today are run in batches through existing glass (Japanese Ministry of Environment, 2018), which is projected to rise
or metal recycling lines (Wambach et al., 2017). to 170 000–280 000 tonne/yr by the middle 2030s (METI, 2019).

TABLE 8.1: COLLECTION OF END OF LIFE PV MODULES FROM SELECTED EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 SOURCE

Germany n/a 2 032 3 595 7 865 n/a Eurostat (2020)
United Kingdom 95 99 107 86 65 UK Environment Agency (2020)
France 0 0 84 3 341 4 753 ADEME (2020)

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 © Adobe Stock
CHAPTER 7 PV IN THE ENERGY SECTOR

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Within the IEA PVPS Task 13, a group of experts representing
several leading R&D centers, universities and industry companies,
Currently, the USA lacks recyclers, policies, incentives, and
is developing a framework for the calculation of Performance Loss
regulatory drivers specific to PV recycling at state (except for
Rates (PLR) on a large number of commercial and research PV
Washington (Washington State Legislature, 2017)) and national
power plants and related weather data coming from various
scales. Voluntary efforts have emerged to fill the gap. The Solar
climatic zones. Various methodologies are applied for the
Energy Industry Association’s (SEIA’s) National PV Recycling
calculation of PLR, which are benchmarked in terms of
Program (SEIA, 2019) lists six US firms capable of recycling modules
uncertainties and “true” values. The aim of the international
and inverters; five will accept c-Si modules, and one recycles its own
collaboration is to show how to calculate the PLR on high quality
thin-film modules. The more active c-Si recyclers in SEIA’s program
(high time resolution, reliable data, irradiance, yield, etc.) and on
report receiving and processing a total of approximately 100 tonnes
low quality data (low time resolution, only energy data available).
per month (SEIA, 2019). (CdTe PV module recycling, by contrast, has
Various algorithms and models, along with different time
been performed at commercial scale for more than 10 years,
averaging and filtering criteria, can be applied for the calculation
reaching 4 050 tonnes recycled in 2017 (First Solar, 2018)). Owing to
of PLR each of which can have an impact on the results. The
the low volumes of modules being sent for recycling, recycling lines
approach considers three pathways to ensure broad collaboration
dedicated to c-Si PV modules have not been developed in the US;
and increase the statistical relevance of the study: i) use of shared
c-Si module recycling now occurs on existing glass, metal, or e-
methodologies on shared time series, ii) use of confidential
waste product lines, in batches when a sufficient module volume is
methodologies on shared time series, iii) use of shared
obtained by the recycler (EPRI, 2018b; Wambach et al. 2017).
methodologies on confidential time series. The data is used for
Existing recyclers seek specific materials that are best tied to current
benchmarking activities and to define which methodologies
business models, flows, and capital assets. Consequently, recovery
clusters around a “true value” of PLR. The combination of metrics
of materials by the recyclers listed in SEIA’s program focuses on
(PR or power based) and methodologies are benchmarked in
materials that can be separated and sold without extensive
terms of deviation from the average value and in terms of
processing, like glass and bulk metal; unwanted materials are moved
standard deviation. The combination of temperature corrected PR
to other recyclers (Butler, 2019).
with the use of Year on Year or STL performs very well compared
An empirical estimate of total US EoL PV modules is unavailable, to others.
but recycled modules likely represent only a small fraction. Based
Another set of data is represented by the IEA PVPS Task 13 “PV
on anecdotal reports, some modules are being disposed of in
Performance Database” which includes more than 120 PV plants
municipal (nonhazardous) and hazardous landfills. Others are being
from different climates. These data are considered of low quality
stored until lower-cost and easier recycling options develop,
as there is no confirmed quality check and the time resolution of
accumulated quantities become more economical to ship and
energy and insolation is monthly; nominal power and the type of
recycle, and issues such as testing for hazardous waste
solarimeter is also given by external users. Two methodologies
determination (toxic contaminant leach testing)—which affect
were applied, Seasonal and Trend decomposition using Loess
interstate transport and treatment options and costs—are resolved
(STL) and Year on Year (YoY), and the PLRs were analyzed in
(EPRI 2018b; California Product Stewardship Council, 2019).
terms of PV technology and climate. STL results in an averaged
PLR over all systems of -0,78%/a, while YoY yields -0,63%/a. STL
is better suited if the time series data are of higher resolution and
TASK 13: CALCULATION OF high-quality weather data are available.
Additionally, PL values of the datasets were divided into different
PERFORMANCE LOSS RATES: DATA technologies and Köppen-Geiger climate zones. As expected,
QUALITY, BENCHMARKS AND TRENDS thin-film systems experienced by far the highest PL of almost -
1%/year in average. Both, mono- and poly-crystalline silicon
systems were subject to lower losses of -0,5 to -0,7%/year, values
The calculation of the evolution of a PV system performance is which are additionally confirmed compared to previous studies. It
crucial to i) evaluate if a system is operating within the boundaries was also visible that the climatic conditions affect the PL over
of long-term yield assessment and warranties and ii) provide more time. High temperatures seem to have an especially severe effect.
accurate values to be used in yield assessments not only in terms Comparing similar climate zones, which differ from one another
of absolute value but also in terms of uncertainty. In order to be able mainly in humidity, did not suggest a proportional relationship
to judge a system performance, the performance loss (PL) must be between degradation and increasing humidity. Further studies in
calculated in an accurate and well documented way and uncertainty this regard must be carried out to confirm this hypothesis, also
provided. Data availability, accuracy and resolution have to be including climate zones in extreme humid conditions.
taken into account when choosing and carrying out the necessary
steps to calculate PL values. The calculation of PL in PV systems is One important outcome of this study is the contribution to a
not trivial as the “true” value remains unknown. Several clear and structured quality classification for PV time series
methodologies have been proposed, however there is no data and a guideline for PLR calculations in dependency of the
consensus and thus a standardized approach to the calculation. data categorization.
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CHAPTER 8 LATEST TRENDS AND RESEARCH DEVELOPMENTS IN THE IEA PVPS TASKS

TASK 14: SOLAR PV IN A FUTURE 100% a significant development in the national interconnection codes.
These new requirements for all generators which started to be
RES BASED POWER SYSTEM implemented in April 2019, aim to ensure system stability with
increasing share of variable generation and market driven
power flows.
Following the massive deployment of PV and other variable
renewable energy sources (RES) – particularly wind – “high In the USA, the IEEE 1547 standard, defining the main
penetration” of solar PV is no longer a local “distribution grid” issue requirements for the interconnection of distributed generators
that is limited to few regions or countries. Instead, we are has been published in 2018, following a fundamental revision of
increasingly seeing “RES dominated” grids, where variable its scope and approach. The new definitions now introduce
generation from RES reaches levels in the order of magnitude of the comprehensive requirements for ride-through capabilities, grid
load even at the transmission system level. This substantial support functions as well as communication and control
transition of the power systems in numerous countries and regions features to be provided by all new distributed generators, not
brings several new technical as well as non-technical challenges. limited to solar PV or wind.
Starting with efficient solutions for the integration of power
• The Smart Grid is Becoming Reality
generation embedded in local distribution grids, interaction and
sharing ancillary service provision between distribution and While still at the beginning, implementation of Smart Grid
transmission system and finally managing wide-scale concepts in power systems worldwide are becoming a
interconnected power systems with a large supply from variable widespread option to address challenges of managing power
sources. With solar PV becoming the least-cost option for bulk systems, especially balancing load and demand with an
power supply in more and more regions of the world, the integration increasingly decentralised supply and new components being
into the power systems and their management will be the key to connected to the more and more constrained grids, such as
ensure an appropriate role and enable further deployment. storage systems, flexible customers, intelligent buildings or
electric vehicles.
The following trends highlight the developments in 2019:
For solar PV, a future Smart Grid can enable a wide range of
• From Solar PV in the Distribution Grids towards 100%
additional services, provision of flexibility, enable local supply as
RES Supplied Power Systems
well as the delivery of ancillary services. However, there are
With increasing share of power supply coming from the numerous questions to be answered to ensure a sustainable
distribution system, also the provision of ancillary services from role for PV in this changing environment. Individual
the distribution to the transmission systems and more widely technologies for smart grid solutions are already available
the interaction between the (mostly unbundled) operators of the today. Now these technologies have to be more widely
two systems becomes vital to enable an efficient operation of integrated into distribution grids, systematically linked together,
the power system. Today it has become clear that solar PV and optimised.
related integration questions, particularly related to system-
Task 14 has been supporting different stakeholders from
wide issues have to be addressed together with other variable
research, manufacturing as well as electricity industry and
renewable energy sources. As part of the collaboration
utilities by providing access to comprehensive international
between IEA PVPS Task 14 and IEA WIND Task 25 (“Design and
studies and experiences with a dedicated focus on technical
Operation of Power Systems with Large Amounts of Wind
issues related to the role of solar PV in a future 100% RES based
Power”) a joint “Expert Group Report on Recommended
power system.
Practice for Wind/PV Integration Studies” addressed these
aspects and presented a best practice for performing solar PV
and wind grid integration studies.
• New Grid Code Requirements Maintain Stability and TASK 15: ENABLING FRAMEWORK
Increasing Resilience in Power Systems
FOR THE ACCELERATION OF BIPV
The increasing share of static converter-based generation (PV
and wind) and a simultaneous decline of system inertia today
provided almost exclusively by synchronous rotating The building sector is responsible for 36% of global end-use
generators, has further increased concerns about overall energy consumption and nearly 40% of total direct and indirect
system stability and a general change in system behaviour CO2 emissions. Goals and specific targets have been set up
during critical situations. globally to reduce the environmental impact of the built
environment. Political statements and directives have been
In Europe, this fact has led to the establishment of European- moving further towards zero-energy buildings, communities and
wide “Network Codes”, covering different aspects of the cities. PV systems play a significant role in this development.
interconnected European electricity system. For solar PV, the Since the start of the first phase of IEA PVPS Task 15 in 2015, the
Network Code on Requirements for Generators, already led to prices for PV components and readily installed conventional PV

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CHAPTER 8 LATEST TRENDS AND RESEARCH DEVELOPMENTS IN THE IEA PVPS TASKS

systems have been drastically reduced improving the possibility buildings. Starting from the status quo in 2019, there is still a
for integrating photovoltaic components into other products like number of issues and the subtasks of Task 15 are tailored to make
building components. Several studies emphasized the large share a major contribution to overcome these issues and accelerate the
of PV in future renewable energy systems and further studies whole BIPV market towards the future vision: The widespread
revealed the large technical and economic potential of building knowledge about BIPV enables all stakeholders to realize
skins for photovoltaic energy conversion. architectonically appealing BIPV systems that are economically
rewarding, well planned -constructed and -operated with support
In summary, all these boundary conditions create a very
of digital methods, based on a clear normative framework and
promising background for BIPV market uptake. However, a major
thus strongly contribute to a renewable energy system and
fraction of the potential remains unused. The presence of (1)
buildings with a small environmental footprint.
proven technology, (2) numerous successful examples, (3) new
innovative BIPV products with a larger degree of design freedom
for architects and (4) an increasing need for energy conversion at
the building level, is still not sufficient to foster a large and self-
sustaining BIPV market. There are still hurdles for large-scale TASK 16: STATE OF THE ART FOR SOLAR
market penetration of BIPV, both at national and international
level. These hurdles consist especially of economic, technological, RESOURCE ASSESSMENTS AND FORECASTS
legal, aesthetic, reliability and normative issues. There is still a
strong need for knowledge transfer between BIPV stakeholders, a Task 16 deals with historical solar resource data as well as
missing link in business approach, an unequal playing field forecasting for the next few days. Since the Task 16 started (mid
regarding regulatory issues and environmental assessment and a 2017) no new reports about those topics have been published.
transfer gap between products and application. However, the precursor Task 46 (of IEA SHC) and also IEA PVPS
Task 15 will address these issues by exchanging research, Task 14 published reports about state-of-the-art methods.
knowledge and experience, and offering the possibility to close Common guidelines are given in the solar resource handbook –
gaps between all BIPV stakeholders, creating an enabling the main output of Task 46.6 This report will be updated by end of
framework to accelerate the implementation of BIPV. Thus, Task 2020 the by Task 16.
15 aims at helping stakeholders from the building sector, energy
sector, the public, government and financial sector to overcome SOLAR RESOURCE ASSESSMENTS
technical and non-technical barriers in the implementation of BIPV
in the built environment by the development of processes, The amount of work needed for resource assessments depend on
methods and tools that assist them. the size of the PV installation. Less uncertainty lowers financial
uncertainty and therefore costs. The more money is involved the
Within Task 15 it is aimed to create an enabling framework to more the uncertainty of resource data plays a role. However, there
accelerate the penetration of BIPV products in the global market are limits to know: even in best cases with 20 years of solar radiation
of renewables, resulting in an equal playing field for BIPV measurements uncertainties of less than 2% are almost impossible
products, BAPV products and regular building envelope to achieve. Additionally, climate change and decadal variation of
components, respecting especially economic, technological, legal, climate induce variabilities that are almost impossible to foresee.
aesthetic, reliability and normative issues. To address these
topics, the experts have developed the following subtasks: For small to medium sized systems the use of monthly averages of
the last 10-20 years or typical meteorological years are common.
• A: Technical Innovation System (TIS) Analysis for BIPV Often such data are directly included in PV simulation tools. Global
• B: Cross-sectional analysis: learning from existing BIPV radiation on horizontal and plane of array are needed. For bigger
installations projects (approx. > 100 MW) time series of satellite data or ground
data (if available nearby – which is seldom) are used. For projects
• C: BIPV Guidelines above 500 MW involving important financial investments often
local measurements for one year (with high quality equipment and
• D: Digitalization for BIPV
regular calibration and maintenance) combined with long term
• E:Pre-normative international research on BIPV satellite data are common. For the adaptation of the local short-
characterisation methods term measurements to the long-term data different methods exists
– the team of Task 16 currently is writing a paper about this topic.
This Task contributes to the ambition of realizing zero-energy
Methods include linear regressions and quantile mapping of
buildings and built environments. The scope of this Task covers
distributions. In order to better serve the results (to be published
new and existing buildings, different PV technologies, different
2020 in a peer-reviewed journal paper), no clear winning method
applications, as well as scale differences from single-family
will be shown.
dwellings to large-scale BIPV applications in offices and industrial

6 https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy08osti/43156.pdf

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TASK 16: STATE OF THE ART FOR SOLAR

RESOURCE ASSESSMENTS AND FORECASTS / CONTINUED

Additional meteorological parameters are also important. For improvements in cruising range and fuel efficiency of PV-powered
small scale projects, at least the temperature is needed. For vehicles, as well as the first demonstration PV-powered vehicle,
bigger projects precipitation, humidity, wind, albedo, soiling and TOYOTA Prius-PHV with 860 W PV cells developed in 2019. The
snow conditions should be known. goal of demonstrative project is to contribute to the creation of a
new PV market, including the transport sector, and find solutions
for energy and environmental issues.
SOLAR FORECASTS
Apart from the demonstration projects above, Kaneka
The method to be used for solar forecasts depends on the time
Corporation, Japan, announced that crystalline silicon photovoltaic
horizon of the forecasts. In the range of minutes either
modules (heterojunction back-contact-type) they developed and
persistence (the radiation is taken as constant), stochastic models
designed in a curved shape have been adopted for use in the roof
or all sky cameras are used. The uncertainties of those cameras
glass of Toyota Motor Corporation’s low-speed automatic driving
are highly uncertain – the reason Task 16 is currently undertaking
EV ‘e-Palette’ . They will continue to strengthen its photovoltaic
a benchmark.
module offerings for vehicles, which contribute to having longer
For the time horizon of half an hour to four hours forecasts based driving distances and reducing CO2 emissions, and aim to have
on satellite images are standard. Several consecutive images are them further adopted in EVs and hybrid cars.
analysed, and cloud vectors detected (if not taken from forecast
In the Netherlands, it was announced in June 2020 that the Dutch
models). Those vectors are used to forecast the clouds and solar
solar car manufacturer Lightyear, put two research vehicles on
radiation in future. For a time horizon larger than six hours,
the road, a Tesla Model 3 and a VW Crafter van with aftermarket
numerical weather prediction models are best. As cloud position
integrated PV products in order to validate Lightyear’s technology
can't be forecasted exactly – the atmosphere is a chaotic system
and design . These vehicles will help to demonstrate added value
– probabilistic forecasts or at least combinations of different
through energy yield and real-world data and input for designing
models are adequate. Post-corrections of forecasts are also
for safety, mechanical durability, vibration impact and
needed as most prediction models show biased results.
waterproofness.
Optimized forecast systems include a mixture of all three-time
In November 2019, IM Efficiency, a Dutch company focused on
horizons.
integrating solar on truck trailers, installed the first trucks in the
Netherlands with the SolarOnTop technology and subsequently in
BENCHMARK OF ALL SKY IMAGERS other countries as well. These panels will serve to reduce fuel
consumption and CO2 emissions.
All sky imagers (ASI) (also called cloud or sky cameras) are used
for solar radiation forecasts for quite a few years now. Global In Germany, Vehicle Integrated Photovoltaics is a recent research
radiation as well as direct radiation is forecasted for the upcoming topic for automotive companies (e.g. Audi, Continental, a2-solar),
10-15 minutes in spatially and temporally high resolution. The Start-Ups (Sono Motors) and public funded research institutes
development is in an early stage and most systems are developed (e.g. Jülich, ISFH, F-ISE, HZB). The German Federal Ministry for
in universities. There are only a few commercial systems available Economic Affairs and Energy is currently funding two large
and many different methods to calculate the forecasts. research projects on the application of VIPV in Truck trailers
(“Lade-PV”) and light commercial vehicles (“Street”). The
objective of the “Street” project is to demonstrate the economic
and ecological viability of VIPV in electrically driven delivery cars.
In a demonstration car “WORK L” of the company StreetScooter,
TASK 17: PV FOR TRANSPORT high-efficient PV modules (based on Si heterojunction cells from
Meyer-Burger) with a total power 2,400 W are installed. The
In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars, initiatives converted PV energy will be used for driving and should cover a
aiming at a rapid rollout of electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid fraction of at least 30% (latitude Germany) of the energy demand
vehicles (PHV) have begun in countries across the world. In on annual average.
response to this situation, PV-powered vehicles are getting
attentions as possible applications, and various activities and
projects have been implemented in some countries.
In Japan, NEDO and Sharp Corporation announced on 6th July
2020 that they developed the second demonstration PV-powered
passenger car. The car equipped with high-efficiency PV cells is an
electric vehicle, ‘e-NV200’, manufactured by Nissan Motor
Corporation, and the PV capacity is 1 150 W. They are planning to
commence public road trials aiming to assess the effectiveness of

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CHAPTER 8 LATEST TRENDS AND RESEARCH DEVELOPMENTS IN THE IEA PVPS TASKS

CONCLUSION

With 111,6 GW of global installations in 2019, the PV market is still The market dynamics were very diverse in Europe: several
leading the renewable energy transition in terms of added capacity. European markets reconnected with growth after several years of
The cumulative capacity reached 623,2 GW at the end of 2019, market stagnation (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Portugal,
representing a PV penetration of 3,3%. Despite the very impressive Spain), others stayed stable (Denmark, France, Switzerland) or
track record of PV installation rates in the last years, these figures steadily increased (the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden) while
are still largely insufficient with regards to the Paris Climate other markets started their development more recently (Poland,
Agreement. The cost reduction evolution of PV technology enabled Russia, Ukraine). In the Asia-Pacific region, Vietnam is the main
a larger and more sustainable market uptake. Nonetheless, national newcomer next to established markets (Australia, India, Japan,
integrated energy and climate plans and international collaboration Korea and Malaysia). In the Americas, growth was driven by the
are required to accelerate the energy transition and to reach less same major markets as in previous years (Brazil, Mexico, United
accessible markets segments for instance. States). In Africa, most of the new capacity was installed in Egypt
and to a lesser degree in South Africa, while in the Middle East
Overall, the main PV development trend observed in 2019 was
the main markets in 2019 were the UAE, Israel and Jordan.
similar to 2018 and even more pronounced: a Chinese market
slowdown (a 14,0 GW market decrease compared to 8,6 GW Recently, the most competitive tenders are below 14 USD per
market decrease in 2018) which was again counterbalanced by MWh and further important cost reductions are still expected until
the (re)emergence of several markets. This uninterrupted market 2030. While these extremely competitive prices are not
growth of the global PV market year after year is encouraging representative of the average PV installations, the overall PV
investments in both upstream manufacturing and downstream competitiveness is still expanding, hence paving the way to new
installation segments. market segments without any form of financial incentive.
The acceleration of the PV roll-out is even more crucial The cumulative PV capacity installed at the end of 2019 allows to
considering the electrification of the transport and the heating and avoid 700 Mt of CO2 eq emissions yearly. This contributed to the
cooling sector. The coupling of local renewable electricity flattening of the global CO2 emissions after two successive years
production to both domestic and industrial energy demand is key of increase. The global CO2 emissions are expected to decrease in
to decarbonize the other sectors traditionally relying on fossil fuels 2020, due to the impact of the sanitary measures for the
consumption. Consequently, PV production should increase even COVID-19 pandemic. However, this reduction is not likely to last if the
faster to meet the increasing demand for electricity. economic activities return to their normal pace. As mentioned above,
a broader decarbonization of the energy sector and of the economy
is needed to achieve rapid and sustainable CO2 emission reductions.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 81

CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION / CONTINUED

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to be rather pandemic. PV development is increasingly being driven by the
limited on the PV market growth in 2020 and in the following natural competitiveness of PV in several segments and the further
years. Indeed, while some countries experienced reduced cost decrease of storage is going to reinforce this trend. While, the
installations due to lockdown measures, other markets future of the PV sector is bright given the technological and price
experienced larger uptakes in the residential markets and many developments, the nations, and the industry's efforts must
countries reaffirmed their support for renewable technologies in increase and converge to ensure the younger generation's future.
their recovery plans to limit the economic and social impact of the

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IEA PVPS TRENDS 2020 IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS

ANNEXES

ANNEX 1: AVERAGE 2019 EXCHANGE RATES

COUNTRY CURRENCY CODE EXCHANGE RATE
(1 USD =)

AUSTRALIA AUD 1,439

CANADA CAD 1,327

CHILE CLP 787,761

CHINA CNY 6,910

DENMARK DKK 6,67

EUROZONE EUR 0,893

ISRAEL ILS 3,563

JAPAN JPY 109,008

KOREA KRW 1165,697

MALAYSIA MYR 4,19

MEXICO MXN 19,246

MOROCCO MAD 9,614

NORWAY NOK 8,802

SOUTH AFRICA ZAR 14,448

SWEDEN SEK 9,457

SWITZERLAND CHF 0,994

THAILAND THB 31,032

TURKEY TRY 5,685

UNITED STATES USD 1

SOURCE IRS.

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020 / 83

 ANNEX 2: CUMULATIVE INSTALLED PV CAPACITY (MW) FROM 1992 TO 2019
COUNTRY 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
AUSTRALIA 7 9 11 13 16 18 21 23 26 30 35 41 47 55 64 74 104 189 578 1 444 2 491 3 283 4 131 5 057 5 908 7 178 11 586 16 344
AUSTRIA 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 4 5 6 10 17 21 24 26 28 32 53 95 187 363 626 785 937 1 096 1 269 1 455 1 702
BELGIUM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 22 108 651 1 070 2 116 2 829 3 079 3 201 3 322 3 527 3 849 4 274 4 861
CANADA 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 6 7 9 10 12 14 17 20 26 33 95 282 559 766 1 211 1 843 2 519 2 665 2 933 3 095 3 326
CHILE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 12 223 590 1 145 1 774 2 406 2 694
CHINA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 16 34 44 54 62 72 92 132 292 792 3 492 6 692 17 682 28 322 43 472 78 022 130 882 175 142 205 242
DENMARK 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 4 7 29 499 699 752 980 1 061 1 138 1 254 1 362
FINLAND 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 2 3 5 7 9 9 9 9 20 37 80 134 214
FRANCE 2 2 2 3 4 6 8 9 11 14 17 21 24 26 38 76 180 371 1 209 2 973 4 093 4 747 5 701 6 605 7 201 80 99 8 968 9 934
GERMANY 6 9 12 18 28 42 54 70 114 176 296 435 1 105 2 056 2 899 4 170 6 120 10 566 18 006 25 916 34 077 36 710 37 900 39 224 40 679 42 293 45 181 49 016
ISRAEL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 22 67 186 272 377 588 771 877 952 1 358 1 914
ITALY 8 12 14 16 16 17 18 18 19 20 22 26 31 37 50 100 496 1 277 3 605 13 141 16 796 18 198 18 607 18 915 19 297 19 682 20 108 20 865
JAPAN 19 24 31 43 60 91 133 209 330 453 637 860 1 132 1 422 1 708 1 919 2 144 2 627 3 618 4 914 6 632 13 599 23 339 34 151 42 040 49 500 56 162 63 192
KOREA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 6 9 14 36 81 357 524 650 729 1 024 1 555 2 481 3 615 4 502 5 835 8 099 11 229
MALAYSIA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 4 34 145 213 273 352 401 918 1 417
MEXICO 0 0 9 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 25 31 40 52 112 179 246 311 485 3 075 5 001
MOROCCO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 205 206
NETHERLANDS 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 5 9 16 22 40 43 45 49 59 69 90 149 287 650 1 007 1 526 2 135 2 901 4 522 6 874
NORWAY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 9 9 10 12 14 26 44 67 120

/ 84
PORTUGAL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 4 15 62 110 134 175 244 299 416 454 520 584 672 827
IEA PVPS TRENDS 2020 IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS

IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020

SOUTH AFRICA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 311 1 392 1 486 2 280 2 349 2 409 2 560
SPAIN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 11 21 43 125 618 3 351 3 392 3 829 4 233 4 532 4 638 4 661 4 707 4 762 48 97 5 159 9 910
SWEDEN 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 6 8 9 11 15 23 42 77 125 184 269 429 720
SWITZERLAND 5 6 7 7 8 10 11 13 15 18 19 21 23 27 30 36 48 74 111 211 437 756 1 061 1 394 1 664 1 906 2 173 2 498
THAILAND 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 30 32 33 43 49 243 387 823 1 298 1 420 2 446 3 056 3 513 3 529
ANNEXES / CONTINUED

TURKEY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 32 64 358 1 175 4 206 7 149 8 547

USA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 111 190 295 455 753 1 188 2 017 3 937 7 130 12 076 18 321 25 821 40 973 51 818 62 498 75 770
TOTAL IEA PVPS 50 65 90 114 149 204 269 369 568 777 1 135 1 547 2 665 4 077 5 482 7 834 14 059 21 594 36 269 64 712 89 694 121 682 156 583 198 001 264 872 348 379 432 008 509 872
TOTAL NON
IEA PVPS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 15 35 55 68 101 135 245 825 3006 5 709 10 312 15 863 20 985 29 926 39 756 58 904 79 642 113 362
TOTAL 50 65 90 114 149 204 269 369 569 785 1 150 1 582 2 721 4 146 5 583 7 969 14 304 22 419 39 274 70 421 100 006 137 545 177 568 227 928 304 627 407 283 511 650 623 234
SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.
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IEA PVPS TRENDS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS 2020
ANNEX 3: ANNUAL INSTALLED PV CAPACITY (MW) FROM 1992 TO 2019
COUNTRY 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
AUSTRALIA 7 2 2 2 3 3 3 2 3 4 5 6 6 8 9 11 30 85 389 866 1 047 792 848 926 851 1 270 4 408 4 758
AUSTRIA 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 4 6 4 3 2 2 5 20 43 92 176 263 159 152 159 173 186 247
BELGIUM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 19 86 543 419 1 046 713 250 122 121 205 322 425 587
CANADA 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 3 4 5 7 62 187 277 207 445 633 675 146 268 162 232
CHILE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 9 210 367 555 629 632 288
CHINA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 5 19 10 10 8 10 20 40 160 500 2 700 3 200 10 990 10 640 15 150 34 550 52 860 44 260 30 100
DENMARK 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 23 470 199 53 228 82 77 116 109
FINLAND 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 2 2 0 0 0 11 17 43 53 81
FRANCE 2 0 0 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 4 3 2 12 38 104 191 838 1 764 1 120 654 954 903 596 898 869 966
GERMANY 6 3 3 6 10 14 12 16 44 62 120 139 670 951 843 1 271 1 950 4 446 7 440 7 910 8 161 2 633 1 190 1 324 1 455 1 614 2 888 3 835
ISRAEL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 21 45 119 86 105 211 183 106 75 406 556
ITALY 8 4 2 2 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 4 5 7 13 50 396 781 2 328 9 536 3 655 1 402 409 308 383 385 426 758
JAPAN 19 5 7 12 16 32 42 75 122 123 184 223 272 290 287 210 225 483 991 1 296 1 718 6 968 9 740 10 811 7 889 7 460 6 662 7 031
KOREA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 3 5 22 45 276 167 127 79 295 531 926 1 134 887 1 333 2 265 3 130
MALAYSIA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 34 111 67 61 78 49 517 499
MEXICO 0 0 9 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 6 9 12 60 67 67 65 174 2 590 1 926
MOROCCO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 205 1
NETHERLANDS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 8 6 18 4 2 3 10 10 21 59 138 363 357 519 609 766 1 621 2 352
NORWAY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 11 18 23 51
PORTUGAL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 11 47 48 24 41 69 55 117 38 66 64 88 155
IEA PVPS TRENDS 2020 IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS

SOUTH AFRICA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 305 1 081 94 794 69 60 151

SPAIN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 6 10 32 82 493 2 733 41 437 404 299 106 23 46 55 135 262 4 751
SWEDEN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 2 4 8 19 35 48 59 85 160 291
SWITZERLAND 5 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 3 7 12 26 37 100 226 319 305 333 270 242 267 325
THAILAND 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 7 2 1 10 6 194 144 436 475 122 1 027 610 456 16
TURKEY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 26 32 294 818 3 031 2943 1 398
USA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 111 79 105 160 298 435 829 1 920 3 193 4 946 6 245 7 500 15 152 10 845 10 680 13 272
TOTAL IEA PVPS 50 15 25 24 34 55 64 101 199 209 358 412 1 118 1 422 1 405 2 352 6 225 7 536 14 674 28 443 24 986 31 987 34 901 41 418 66 870 83 507 83 629 77 865
TOTAL NON
IEA PVPS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 7 20 21 13 33 34 110 580 2 181 2 703 4 601 5 551 5 122 8 941 9 829 19 146 20 738 33 720
TOTAL 50 15 25 24 34 55 64 101 200 216 365 432 1 139 1 435 1 437 2 386 6 335 8 116 16 855 31 147 29 587 37 538 40 023 50 359 76 700 102 653 104 367 111 585
SOURCE IEA PVPS & OTHERS.
IEA PVPS TRENDS 2020 IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS

LIST OF FIGURES & TABLES

FIGURE 2.1: EVOLUTION OF CUMULATIVE PV INSTALLATIONS 11

FIGURE 2.2: PV PENETRATION PER CAPITA 2019 11
FIGURE 2.3: EVOLUTION OF ANNUAL PV INSTALLATIONS 12
FIGURE 2.4: EVOLUTION OF MARKET SHARE OF TOP COUNTRIES 13
FIGURE 2.5: GLOBAL PV MARKET IN 2019 14
FIGURE 2.6: CUMULATIVE PV CAPACITY END 2019 14
FIGURE 2.7: ANNUAL SHARE OF CENTRALIZED AND DISTRIBUTED GRID-CONNECTED INSTALLATIONS 2009 - 2019 15
FIGURE 2.8: CUMULATIVE SHARE OF GRID CONNECTED PV INSTALLATIONS 2009 - 2019 15
FIGURE 2.9: ANNUAL SHARE OF CENTRALIZED, DISTRIBUTED, OFF-GRID AND FLOATING INSTALLATIONS 17
FIGURE 2.10: GRID-CONNECTED CENTRALIZED AND DISTRIBUTED PV INSTALLATIONS BY REGION IN 2019 19
FIGURE 2.11: EVOLUTION OF REGIONAL PV INSTALLATIONS 20
FIGURE 3.1A: MAIN DRIVERS OF THE DISTRIBUTED PV MARKET IN 2019 28
FIGURE 3.1B: MAIN DRIVERS OF THE CENTRALIZED PV MARKET IN 2019 28
FIGURE 3.2: HISTORICAL MARKET INCENTIVES AND ENABLERS 28
FIGURE 4.1: PV SYSTEM VALUE CHAIN (EXAMPLE OF CRYSTALLINE SILICON PV TECHNOLOGY) 39
FIGURE 4.2: SHARE OF PV POLYSILICON PRODUCTION IN 2019 40
FIGURE 4.3: SHARE OF PV WAFER PRODUCTION IN 2019 41
FIGURE 4.4: SHARE OF PV CELLS PRODUCTION IN 2019 42
FIGURE 4.5: SHARE OF PV MODULE PRODUCTION IN 2019 42
FIGURE 4.6: PV MODULE PRODUCTION PER TECHNOLOGY IN 2019 43
FIGURE 4.7: YEARLY PV INSTALLATION, PV PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTION CAPACITY 2008 - 2019 45
FIGURE 4.8: OVERVIEW OF DOWNSTREAM SECTOR (UTILITY PV APPLICATION) 47
FIGURE 5.1: BUSINESS VALUE OF THE PV MARKET IN 2019 52
FIGURE 5.2: INDUSTRIAL BUSINESS VALUE OF PV IN 2019 52
FIGURE 5.3: GLOBAL EMPLOYMENT IN PV PER COUNTRY 53
FIGURE 5.4: YEARLY CO2 EMISSIONS AVOIDED BY PV 55
FIGURE 6.1: PV MODULES SPOT PRICES LEARNING CURVE (1992-2020) 57
FIGURE 6.2: EVOLUTION OF PV MODULES PRICES RANGE 57
FIGURE 6.3: 2019 PV MARKET COSTS RANGES 59
FIGURE 6.4: EVOLUTION OF RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL AND GROUND MOUNTED SYSTEMS PRICES RANGE 2012 - 2019 61
FIGURE 6.5: AVERAGE COST BREAKDOWN FOR A RESIDENTIAL PV SYSTEM< 10 KW 62
FIGURE 6.6: RESIDENTIAL SYSTEM HARDWEAR COST BREAKDOWN 62
FIGURE 6.7: AVERAGE COST BREAKDOWN FOR A UTILITY-SCALE PV SYSTEM > 10 MW 63
FIGURE 6.8: UTILITY-SCALE SYSTEM HARDWARE COST BREAKDOWN 63
FIGURE 6.9: LCOE OF PV ELECTRICITY AS A FUNCTION OF SOLAR IRRADIANCE & RETAIL PRICES IN KEY MARKETS 65
FIGURE 6.10: NORMALIZED LCOE FOR SOLAR PV BASED ON RECENT PPA PRICES 2016 - Q3 2020 66
FIGURE 7.1: PV CONTRIBUTION TO THE ELECTRICITY DEMAND IN 2019 69
FIGURE 7.2: SHARE OF RENEWABLE IN THE GLOBAL ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION IN 2019 71
FIGURE 7.3: NEW RENEWABLE INSTALLED CAPACITY IN 2019 71

TABLE 2.1: EVOLUTION OF TOP 10 PV MARKETS 14

TABLE 2.2: 2019 PV MARKET STATISTIC IN DETAIL 26
TABLE 3.1: OVERVIEW OF SUPPORT SCHEMES IN SELECTED IEA PVPS COUNTRIES 37
TABLE 4.1: GLOBAL TOP FIVE MANUFACTURERS IN TERMS OF PV CELL/MODULE PRODUCTION AND SHIPMENT VOLUME (2019) 44
TABLE 4.2: EVOLUTION OF ACTUAL MODULE PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTION CAPACITIES 46
TABLE 6.1: INDICATIVE MODULE PRICES (NATIONAL CURRENCY AND USD/W) IN SELECTED REPORTING COUNTRIES 57
TABLE 6.2: INDICATIVE INSTALLED SYSTEM PRICES IN SELECTED IEA PVPS REPORTING COUNTRIES IN 2019 60
TABLE 6.3: TOP 10 LOWEST WINNING BIDS IN PV TENDERS FOR UTILTY SCALE PV SYSTEMS 67
TABLE 7.1: 2019 PV ELECTRICITY STATISTICS IN IEA PVPS COUNTRIES 70
TABLE 8.1: COLLECTION OF END OF LIFE PV MODULES FROM SELECTED EUROPEAN COUNTRIES 76
ANNEX 1: AVERAGE 2019 EXCHANGE RATES 83
ANNEX 2: CUMULATIVE INSTALLED PV CAPACITY (MW) FROM 1992 TO 2019 84
ANNEX 3: ANNUAL INSTALLED PV CAPACITY (MW) FROM 1992 TO 2019 85

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IEA PVPS TRENDS 2020 IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS