APAC seen to become PV hub

According to MarketResearch.com Inc., Asia Pacific (APAC) will become a huge market for the photovoltaics (PV) industry. In a report titled "Global Solar Photovoltaic Market Outlook to 2015-Asia Pacific the Next Epicenter in PV Industry," figures suggested various countries in the region growing at differing paces with regard to solar installations.

China and India are forecasted as the upcoming markets in the region. Taiwan is at the forefront of PV manufacturing and has increased its volume of installations. However, Japan's solar PV market shows signs of decline.

From 2006-2010, annual installations have increased at a CAGR of 57.3 percent. Installations over the years have increased from 333MW in 2006 to 967MW in 2009. Last year was a phenomenal year for this industry with an increase of more than 100 percent compared to the previous year, wherein annual PV installations jumped from 967MW to 2,036MW.

Japan's solar PV segment is an export-oriented market. The country exported 58.1 percent of its solar cells and modules production to overseas countries such as Germany, Spain and others. The proportion of its production shipped to overseas countries has reduced over time with several other emerging APAC countries such as China and Taiwan, providing stiff competition to the country. About 41.9 percent of the production of solar cells and modules were used domestically for residential, commercial and consumer purposes.

Rural electrification was the largest application of PV systems in China in which nearly 50 percent of solar PV installations are used. With more emphasis by government on the BIPV segment, its share of 17.5 percent last year is likely to increase in the coming years. Communication and industrial applications, small solar PV appliances and ground based large-scale PV power plants are other segments where PV installed capacity are applied, noted MarketResearch.com.

Taiwan is only behind China in terms of production of silicon PV cells worldwide. The two held a market share of almost 60 percent. The country has a stable supply chain network with products ranging from various silicon products to solar modules. The country has emerged as one of the manufacturing centers for PV products, especially in APAC.