Brussels, 24 March 2009

2008: an exceptional year for the Photovoltaic Market

The European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) presented its annual market figures to its members on Friday 20 March 2009. The global solar photovoltaic (PV) market grew to at least 5.5 GW[1] in 2008 compared to 2.4 GW in 2007. Spain ranks first, followed by Germany.

At its 4th Market Potential and Production Capacity Workshop on Friday 20 March in Frankfurt, EPIA presented its global market analysis and projections for the next 5 years.

In 2008, the global PV market reached 5.5 GW and the installed capacity totaled almost 15 GW compared to 9 GW in 2007. Spain represented almost half of new installations in 2008 with about 2.5 GW new capacities, followed by Germany with 1.5 GW additional connected systems in the last year. USA confirmed its trend with 342 MW newly installed capacities, followed by South Korea which registered 274 MW of PV installations over the year. Italy connected almost 260 MW while France, Portugal, Belgium and the Czech Republic made good scores confirming Europe’s global leadership in the deployment of solar PV energy.

“A diversification of the market is taking place with countries adopting appropriate support policies, this is very good news for the PV industry and the environment” said Dr. Winfried Hoffmann, President of EPIA, in his concluding speech.

EPIA’s market and production forecasts for the next 5 years were also presented. Given the current crisis context, high uncertainties over the 2009 market exist. This year, experts believe the market could reach up to 7 GW, each individual country’s development influencing the final figure. In particular Spain recently changed its support scheme, setting-up a cap which will limit the development of the global market in 2009. The PV sector is hoping other markets such as the US, Germany, France and Italy will pull the demand. Favourable policy frameworks are expected to further accelerate PV deployment in these countries. In 2013, the global PV market could reach 22 GW if appropriate policies, such as feed-in tariffs, are in place. These figures will be presented in detail at EPIA’s 3rd International Conference on Solar Photovoltaic Investments on 7-8 April 2009 in Frankfurt, Germany.


Note to editors
With more than 200 Members drawn from across the entire solar electricity sector, the European Photovoltaic Industry Association is the world’s largest photovoltaic industry association and represents about 95% of the European photovoltaic industry. EPIA members are present throughout the whole value-chain: from silicon, cells and module production to systems development. EPIA’s mission is to deliver a distinct and valuable service driven from the strength of a single photovoltaic voice.

For more information:
Marie Latour - Media Relations
Tel: +32 (0)2 400 10 13 / +32 (0)479 20 29 59 - Email : This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it


Annex: Top 10 PV Markets in 2008