Massive PV production capacity increase underway, says EU’s Joint Research Centre

September 23, 2010
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

In the recently published eighth ‘Annual Photovoltaics Status Report’ the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) has reported a ‘massive’ increase in photovoltaics production capacity is underway and that worldwide production capacity for solar cells would exceed 38GW by the end of 2010. The report also notes that production volumes in 2008 increased by 80% as compared to 2007, reaching 7.3GW of potential output with China, Taiwan and Europe all adding significant capacity.

The key problem is that market demand will be significantly below production capacity levels. The report noted that market forecasts for 2010 vary considerably ranging from 6.8GW (Navigant conservative scenario), 7 to 10GW (EPIA policy driven scenario, EuPD, Bank Sarasin, LBBW) and on the high-side 17GW (Photon Consulting).

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

‘The consequence would be a quite low utilisation rate and consequently an accelerated shift from the demand-driven markets of the last years to an oversupplied market which will increase the pressure on the margins. Such a development will accelerate the consolidation of the photovoltaics industry and spur more mergers and acquisitions,’ the report noted.

The report also noted that Europe's solar cell production rose from 1.1GW to 1.9GW in 2008. China increased solar cell manufacturing output to 2.4GW in 2008, while Japan had 1.2GW and Taiwan with 0.8GW.

 

Read Next

October 31, 2025
Australia's solar and energy storage sectors delivered transformative performance during the third quarter of 2025, with grid-scale solar generation reaching 1,699MW average output while battery systems expanded capacity by 2,936MW since Q3 2024.
October 31, 2025
Acen Australia has committed to recycling around one million solar modules from its 400MW Stubbo solar PV power plant in New South Wales.
October 30, 2025
Scatec posted development and construction (D&C) revenues of NOK1,760 million (US$175.1 million) in the third quarter of this year.
October 30, 2025
Global net zero by 2050 is now “impossible” and the world is on course for temperature rises of 2.6°C, according to energy market analyst Wood Mackenzie.
October 30, 2025
US microinverter producer Enphase Energy posted increased revenues, margin and income in Q3 2025, as it doubles down on its US manufacturing operations.
October 30, 2025
Nexamp has secured US$600 million in financing for distributed solar and energy storage projects in the US.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Webinars
November 12, 2025
10am PST / 1pm EST
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK
Solar Media Events
March 10, 2026
Frankfurt, Germany