Market research firm, IHS has reiterated its forecast that PV capital spending would increase by 42% from the lows of 2013 and reach US$3.37 billion in 2014.
Growth was also reiterated for 2015, though IHS has reduced the capex figure from US$4.341 billion to US$4.22 billion. However, the capex figure shows an expected 25% increase over 2014.
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IHS highlighted Canadian Solar and SunPower as two tier 1 PV manufacturers that were expanding capacity and planned to increase capex for the year, first exclusively revealed by PV Tech.
New capacity expansions also expected occur in emerging markets such as the Middle East, South America and parts of Africa over the ‘long term,” according to IHS.
However, as exclusively revealed by PV Tech, SunEdison is finalising a deal with the Saudi government to form a JV that would included a fully-integrated manufacturing complex that would cost over US$6 billion.
The Saudi government has plans to create the complete supply chain for PV in the country and become a major global player. Should the JV be signed and sealed this year, major capex spending would be expected in 2015, which could significantly shift overall industry spending higher than the current IHS growth forecast.
Indeed, should global end-market demand continue to increase in 2015 and exceed 50GW, a more concerted new capacity drive by leading players could be kick-started that would include gigawatt-sized new fabs on a scale not yet seen within a short period of time.