14 DAY TRIAL // According to a new report delivered by the European Photovoltaic Industry Association this past June 2, the world added a record 38.4GW of solar PV capacity in 2013.
In a press release on the matter at hand, the Association explains that, when compared to the year 2012, when newly-installed solar PV capacity amounted to just 30GW, this represents a noteworthy increase.
“With at least 38.4GW of newly-installed solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity worldwide and a global cumulative installed capacity of 138.9GW, 2013 was another historic year for solar PV technology,” the Association writes.
What's interesting is that, according to figures at hand, Asia was way brighter and more sunshiny than Europe last year. Thus, added solar PV capacity in Asia pretty much put Europe's to shame.
The European Photovoltaic Industry Association says that, in 2013, Europe successfully installed new solar PV capacity amounting to 11GW. This is considerably less than the 17.7GW added in 2013.
By comparison, China alone managed to set in place 11.8GW of new capacity. Japan, India, Korea, and Thailand, on the other hand, added 6.9GW, 1.1GW, 442MW, and 317MW, respectively, the Association's report details.
“PV is becoming a major part of the electricity system all over the globe, changing the way our world is powered,” said Oliver Schäfer, the current European Photovoltaic Industry Association president.
Furthermore, “Policymakers and energy stakeholders should now understand that electricity grids and markets need to be adapted to fit these new realities and facilitate a cost efficient transition.”
By the looks of it, the European countries whose solar PV industry had an especially good year in 2013 are as follows: Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Romania, and Greece. Thus, added capacity was 3.3GW, 1.5GW, 1.4GW, 1.1GW, and 1.04GW, respectively.
Despite their previous achievements in terms of going green, Belgium, France, and Denmark performed rather poorly, and added just 215MW, 613MW, and 200MW, respectively.
In light of these findings, specialists with the Association say that, if countries in this part of the world are to continue making progress when it comes to upping their dependence on clean energy sources, proper policies and incentives are very much needed.
“Europe's situation at the end of last year shows that PV, as any other energy business, remains policy-driven. A series of retrospective measures were implemented in the last years in various European countries, leading to the sharp market decrease observed in 2013.”
“Sustainable, predictable and dynamic framework condition and policies are needed in Europe and globally to provide enough visibility to investors,” President Oliver Schäfer wished to stress.