A total of 229 GW of solar power was installed in the world at the end of 2015, representing an over 45-fold market increase in only 10 years, according to the 'Global Market Outlook for Solar Power 2016-2020' published by SolarPower Europe in June. total of 229 GW of solar power was installed in the world at the end of 2015, representing an over 45-fold market increase in only 10 years, according to the 'Global Market Outlook for Solar Power 2016-2020' published by SolarPower Europe in June.
After an annual level of newly added solar power capacity of 50 GW was reached in 2015, the global solar market is well on its way to crack the 60 GW mark in 2016 - the most likely scenario forecasts around 62 GW of newly commissioned solar power this year, the report notes.
In the first quarter of 2016, China alone installed over 7 GW of solar power. Europe became the first region in the world to pass the 100 GW mark of installed PV capacity. "Solar is booming and continues to break records in many parts of the world which gives us reasons to believe 700 GW globally installed solar power is possible by 2020," SolarPower Europe President Oliver Schafer said.
China, Japan and the US again led the world's solar market in 2015, with China and Japan alone responsible for 50% of newly installed capacity. 2015 also marked a growth year for the European solar market with 8.2 GW of grid-connected solar power, the market grew by 15% year-on-year.
However, SolarPower Europe CEO James Watson said in a statement that, while this is the first upward trend since 2011, it was likely that demand on the European continent would slow down, primarily due to the termination of support for utility-scale solar in the UK. “What European solar needs now is the right electricity market design," he said.
Source: © European Union, 1995-2016