Solar energy is good for both today and the future

Solar energy was for many years regarded as too expensive and too inefficient, an energy source that perhaps is expected to show some promise in years to come, but definitely not today. However, if we look at the current situation on global energy map we can see that solar energy is now good for both today and the future.

What has happened in the last decade or so for solar energy sector that is now rapidly growing and turning solar energy industry into one of the fastest growing industries in the world?

Solar energy has become cost-competitive with fossil fuels. OK, the fossil fuels still have the gap in prices but this gap is shrinking and solar is becoming more and more viable with each new year. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, solar energy generation today costs around 13 cents per kilowatt-hour, and the downward trend in prices is expected to further continue in years to come.

Solar panels are becoming cheaper and more efficient. The researchers from all around the world test new materials and new methods that would make solar panels even more commercially viable.

The fact that solar panels are now cheaper and more efficient is not the only factor contributing to huge sales of solar equipment worldwide. The other factor which has contributed to rapid decline in prices is increase in supply-mostly because of Chinese solar panel producers.

Many states and countries offer favorable tax incentives for new solar energy installations. There is also the feeling that installing solar panels means doing your share in global fight against climate change and pollution. Installing solar panels is now not only the tool to support green cause, it also gives you the chance for hefty profits, depending on the country you live in.

Global solar energy output is expected to grow by more than quarter in 2015. Solar is good today, in years to come it could become the best energy option of them all.

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US solar energy industry set for bright future

US solar energy industry has been rapidly growing in the last decade or so. US solar power capacity grew by more than 30% in 2014 as compared to 2013, with 6.2 gigawatts of new solar power capacity.

The rapid growth of solar power capacity in United States is not just because Americans are interested lot more in clean energy sources but also because of favorable 33 percent investment tax credit. However, this tax credit is set to expire at the end of 2016 meaning that the developers and consumers will have to share the burden of solar power costs.

The only downward trend in US solar energy industry in 2014 was the installation of non-residential solar panels, which represented decline of 6 % in comparison to 2013. This is mainly because financing small commercial solar installation comes with difficulties in what is a tight economy.

Energy analysts expect yet another over 30% increase in new solar power installations in 2015. In foreseeable future lot of it will depend on the status of state renewable portfolio standards and how much will utilities have to produce or acquire a percentage of their power sales from clean energy resources.

The future growth is also expected because of the falling solar panel prices. This trend is expected to continue in years to come not just because of the rapidly growing market with more competitors but also because of technological advancements in solar panel production.

The number of competitors in US solar energy market continues to grow and so does the value of market. It was estimated that the value of US solar energy market grew from around $3 billion in 2009 to over $13 billion in 2014.

Solar accounted for 32% of the US new generating capacity in 2014, meaning that new solar installations toppled wind and coal installations.

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Solar energy industry stagnating in Europe

EU has dominated global solar energy market in terms of new installations for more than a decade but things have significantly changed in the last few years. The great demand for solar energy in Asia has seen China overtake EU in 2013 as the global leader in new solar installations with the total PV installation of 12.9 GW as compared to 10.6 GW in EU.

China is not the only country in Asia with great demand for solar energy. Japan is also looking to significantly expand its solar energy market and has added 7 GW of new solar power capacity in 2013.

If Asia continues this strong solar energy push it will soon end EU domination in terms of cumulative installed solar power capacity. EU with approximately 81 GW of cumulative installed capacity currently accounts for 57% of globally installed solar capacity.

In the last decade EU has experienced tremendous growth in solar power capacity. In 2005, cumulative end capacity was only 1.9 GW, and it rose to 80.7 GW at the end of 2013.

This growth had plenty to do with the favorable feed in tariffs for solar energy in many of EU countries such as Germany and Italy. The demand for solar power decreased once solar tariffs were cut, and Germany the largest EU photovoltaic market installed only 3.3. GW of solar power capacity in 2013, a sharp decline from 7.6 GW a year earlier.

Many energy analysts expect this solar energy slowdown to continue in EU in the upcoming years. The recent forecast by the International Energy Agency (IEA) says that EU solar market share in global solar power capacity will continue to shrink and will likely fall below 30% by 2020.

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The effect of falling oil prices on solar energy market

Is investing in solar energy still the right business move, even despite the falling oil prices? Some analysts believe that the recent decline in oil prices will reduce investment into solar energy sector. This theory is based on the fact that solar power will be less competitive with oil if oil prices remain low.

However, this theory is very much open for debate because solar power hasn't been that competitive with fossil fuels before this plunge in oil prices meaning that cost-competitiveness is not the only factor that decides the trends at the global solar energy market.

Whether oil prices will continue to fall or not it remains to be seen though this looks like a very likely scenario especially after some OPEC members proposed reduced oil output in order to stabilize falling prices.

The popularity of solar energy and the fact that solar energy industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world is not built on cost-competitiveness because if this was the case then solar energy market wouldn't be growing so rapidly.

The favorable legislation which heavily subsidies solar energy is the cornerstone of rapidly expanding solar energy sector. Oil prices, even if they continue to fall, will certainly not have long-lasting effect on global solar energy market.

Solar energy market has everything that is needed to grow further. Solar energy is destined to become number one energy source in years to come. Sure, the slowdown of solar energy industry remains a very distant possibility but on the long run solar energy looks like a clear favorite to finish the global energy race as the undisputed winner.

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U.S. solar industry rapidly growing in 2014

The U.S. solar industry is rapidly growing. According to the latest report by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) United States added 1.133 MW of new solar power capacity in the second quarter of 2014.

The total solar power capacity currently installed in United States is said to be around 16 GW, which is enough to provide power for approximately 3.3 average U.S. homes.

U.S. solar energy industry is the fastest growing industry in the country with the major impact on nation's economy. It has been estimated that U.S. solar energy industry currently employs around 145,000 people, and is worth to U.S. economy $15 billion a year.

Solar power continues to be a No.1 source of new electricity generation in United States, in fact 53% of newly generated electricity came from solar power in the first half of 2014. The each of the last three quarters accounted for more than 1 GW of new installed solar power capacity.

At the end of the second quarter of this year more than half a million homeowners and commercial customers have installed solar photovoltaics (PV). The latest GTM research predicts that United States will reach 6,5 GW of new PV installations in 2014, which should represent a growth of nearly 36% as compared to 2013.

There are many factors behind this staggering growth of solar capacity in United States. The large credit goes to wise and effective policies (such as tax credits and renewable energy standards).

Solar will continue to grow even further, providing many new homes and business with power, in years to come. Solar power is clean source of energy that is not only becoming cheaper but also lot more reliable than before. With the little luck, and the further increase in efficiency solar could  become the most important energy source nationwide in not that distant future.

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UK is one of EU's solar energy leaders

United Kingdom isn't exactly known for sunny weather like, for instance Spain, but this hasn't prevented solar industry in Britain from developing into a respectable player on domestic energy market. According to most recent figures from the Department of Energy and Climate Change UK solar power industry has installed 500,000th set of panels in the UK in recent days.

This number is already respectable but UK's solar power industry plans to install one million solar arrays on homes by 2015. The current rate of around 1900 installed solar arrays per week will have to increase significantly in order for UK solar power industry to achieve this goal but many believe this number is well within the reach.

The favorable feed-in-tariff system is certainly one of the major reasons of the growing popularity of solar energy sector in UK. There are of course opponents of this system who claim that all energy billpayers effectively provide additional payments to those households that have installed solar power which doesn't seem fair.

The solar energy industry doesn't agree with that claiming that paying now a bit extra for solar is helping to bring down costs for everyone else in future, and that thanks to public investment subsidies are dropping rapidly, which should in an ideal scenario result in cost-parity of solar energy in relation to coal and other fossil fuels in not so distant future.

But there is also a very strong marketing, and the recent polls suggest that many people in UK support solar and other renewables.

The UK's total solar power capacity currently stands at around 2 GW, and the UK climate change minister, Greg Barker, recently estimated that the country will pass the 3GW of installed solar power capacity in the coming months. These figures put UK at the very high place of the EU solar energy ladder.

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Global solar energy market becoming more stable

For several years now, solar energy industry has been one of the fastest growing industries in the world. However, even despite rapid growth solar energy sector lacked stability because of several different factors such as overcapacity, bankruptcies and record low prices.

The year 2013 look to be far more stable for solar energy industry than this has been the case with the past few years. This is represented by global price stabilization, higher utilization rates and what is extremely important much more balanced supply-demand equation.

The latest report from Mercom Capital group predicts rapid growth in global solar power capacity at approximately 38 GW for 2013, representing a rather noticeable 23% growth compared to 2012.

China is expected to add 8,5 GW of new solar power capacity this year, and somewhat surprising is the fact that Japan is close second with 7 GW of expected solar power capacity to go online by the end of this year. The United States, on the the other hand, is expected to add approximately 4.5 GW of new solar power capacity in 2013.

Japan's move to more solar energy primarily comes as the result of recent Fukushima disaster. This nuclear disaster forced Japan to search for new solutions in effort to diversify its energy portfolio, and solar energy looks to be getting the lion's share of this new plan (Japan currently has one of the most favorable feed-in-tariffs in the world).

Other top solar energy markets in the world forecasted for 2013 are Germany at 4 GW, Italy at 2 GW, UK at 1.5 GW and India at 1 GW. 

 

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US demand for solar to reach record levels

U.S. solar energy industry is set for very bright future. The latest Solarbuzz report predicts that the demand for solar panels in United States in 2013 will grow by more than 20% than compared to 2012, reaching a record high of 4.3 gigawatts (GW).

The second quarter of 2013 should account for 1 GW, with almost three quarters of new installations coming from four states: California, Arizona, New Jersey, and North Carolina.

The majority of new solar installations refers to  the utility-dominated ground-mount segment that should account for 68% this quarter with  residential and small commercial rooftop solar panel installations accounting for 18% and the remaining 14% referring to large commercial rooftops.

Solarbuzz predicts that large solar energy projects in top solar energy markets such as Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas will push US demand above 2.5 GW during the second half of 2013.

The demand for solar panels on US market should exceed 5 GW in 2014, representing a staggering 70% compound annual growth rate since 2009.

The strong demand for solar energy is driven by favorable incentives and specific mandates deployed in many of U.S. states. The main reason why solar energy is today the fastest industry in the nation is because of the mix of federal incentives and aggressive renewable portfolio standards.

There have been some fears that this strong surge in demand could lead to over-supply that would threaten the new solar PV investments and thus hinder the future solar energy growth in United States. So far, everything is well for US solar though US solar energy market still remains heavily dependent on strong PV demand from a small group of states that lead the way.

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Photovoltaic demand to grow in 2013

The year 2012 was kind of a disappointment for global solar energy industry because in 2012 photovoltaic demand grew increased just 5% as compared to 2011 to reach 29 GW. The Solarbuzz reports that this is the first time in more than ten years that annual growth has fallen to under 10%.

The decline in 2012 was mostly down to the decreased demand for photovoltaics in Europe. EU still remained the largest regional market in 2012, accounting for 16.48 GW, or nearly 60% of the 29 GW demand. However, this was a significant decline from 68% and 82% in 2011.

The year 2013 is expected to be characterized with better numbers, with photovoltaic growth coming from fast emerging markets of Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. The exact number of total demand is difficult to predict due to uncertainties in the regions, but there have been reports about global photovoltaic demand reaching around 45 GW demand at the end of 2013.

This would put global PV demand back on track with previous years, and enhance the position of solar industry as one of the fastest growing in the world.

Of course, the global PV market still needs to find the balance between the supply and demand. Otherwise, even the largest players on market will be yet again experiencing significant operating losses.

The global popularity and new emerging PV markets means that solar energy industry can look forward to a very bright future. The proper financing, cost-effectiveness and new research are keys for future solar energy domination.

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US solar energy market still attractive to investors

Solar energy industry is today the fastest growing industry in the United States with U.S. solar energy market rapidly expanding as it attracts more and more investors. The latest report by Frost & Sullivan says that the utility scale solar power market in the U.S. will attract more than US$20 billion worth of investment by 2016.

The positive solar energy outlook has instilled confidence in many of U.S. major investors such as Warren Buffet’s MidAmerican Renewables, with many new solar energy projects being developed all across the country.

California is still the largest U.S. solar energy market, and this isn't expected to change for foreseeable future. Many other states, most notably New Jersey, are also looking good in solar energy development, and as the result of this solar is taking a large chunk of new energy capacity in the U.S. market.

The average selling prices of solar panels still continue to decline making solar power more affordable to not just large and small business, but also to many homeowners. The only somewhat negative thing is the uncertainty on whether the cash grants for solar development will be extended past March 1, 2013.

As with any other market, investors want long-term certainty to be able to return their initial investment. Renewable energy portfolio standards (RPS) are also driving the demand for solar power. The states with RPS have been rapidly adopting solar power and thus attracting lion share of total investments into solar energy market.

Photovoltaics are still the dominant segment of the utility scale solar power market although concentrated solar power (CSP) is also rapidly developing and should account for lot bigger role in years to come.

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