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

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

September 5, 2025
US solar tracker manufacturer Nextracker has launched a new electrical balance of systems (eBOS) trunk connector.
September 5, 2025
Scientists from Germany and Saudi Arabia have discovered that perovskite thin-film cells are compatible with current industry standard silicon solar cells, which they claim is a “crucial step toward the industrialisation of perovskite silicon tandem solar cells”.
September 5, 2025
During a week of major US clean energy developments, ContourGlobal, PSE, Arevon, and Ameren Missouri advanced solar projects across four states in the US.
September 5, 2025
Newly formed firm Solaris Assets has acquired the business operations and assets of Texas-based residential solar installer Sunnova.
September 5, 2025
US solar tracker manufacturer Array Technologies has announced that two of its tracking systems are compatible with 2,000V solar systems.
September 5, 2025
Research firm Rystad Energy has found that Queensland’s utility-scale solar PV power plants have dominated the best-performing assets, in terms of AC capacity factor, rankings for August 2025.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines