EU leading the way in newly installed solar cells

Europe ranks highest in PV electricity generation capacity worldwide (image source: JRC)

The JRC's Institute for Energy (IE) published the ninth Annual Photovoltaics Status Report today.

The study highlights that, in 2009, newly installed photovoltaic (PV) cells world-wide produced a peak amount of electricity estimated at 7.4 GW, out of which 5.8 GW was located in Europe. Similarly to previous years, this shows the EU's dominance in this field, where more than three quarters of the world's new PV modules were installed. By the end of 2009, Europe's cumulative installed PV electricity generation capacity (existing and newly installed) was 16 GW, which is about 70% of the world's total (22GW).

It is estimated that one GW of PV electricity generation capacity provides enough electricity for about 250,000 European households during one year. In the EU in 2009, 27.5 GW of new power capacity was constructed. About 21% (5.8 GW, up from 5.1 GW in 2008) of this was PV based.

Most of the EU’s growth that year occurred in Germany (3.8 GW, reaching a cumulative value of 9.8 GW), and in the 4th quarter, some 2.3 GW were connected to the grid. In fact, Germany ranks first in the world for cumulative installed capacity (9.8 GW), followed by Spain (3.5 GW), thanks to the renewable energy legislation in these countries.

The PV status report summarises and evaluates the results of a survey of more than 300 companies worldwide. It looks at the photovoltaic market and global industry with special attention to the EU, India, Japan, China, Taiwan and the United States, providing a final outlook on the topic. It also provides an overview of current activities in research, manufacturing and market implementation in this sector. However, data from 2009 may have a higher uncertainty than usual, mostly due to the difficult market situation and the decreased willingness of companies to report confidential data.

Related Links

• Institute for Energy
• News release: Three quarters of new solar systems world-wide were installed in the EU in 2009
• Photovoltaic Status Report 2010

Source: The JRC's Institute for Energy (IE)