| German PV Market
Increased by 53% in 2005, Solarbuzz Report Says
Germany strengthened its position as the leading national solar
photovoltaic (PV) market in 2005 with growth of 53 percent to 837
Megawatts of newly installed capacity, according to the new
German PV Market
Report 2006 recently issued by San Francisco-based PV consultancy,
Solarbuzz LLC. Of the 837 Megawatts, 7 Megawatts are accounted for by off-grid systems, while the grid connect market (and focus of the new report) accounted for 830 Megawatts. Residential customers continue to underpin the German PV market, according to the report. They accounted for 40 percent of new installations in 2005. The next largest segment of agricultural customers represented 28 percent of the market. The pattern of changes in the market have been underpinned by differences in investment economics for PV in each customer segment, and this fast changing picture is a key element of how the market will evolve over the next two years. The report also analyzes the flow of module volumes through each part of the German business chain to characterize the key PV industry activities in the market. It also profiles product and business chain developments. Short-term German market performance will be impacted by declining customer segment economics (individually analyzed in the report), driven mainly by rising global PV module prices and the annual decline in feed-in tariffs for solar electricity. In addition, its evolution will be governed by two key factors: the changing balance of global module supply and demand and the impending review of the Renewable Energy Law (EEG) that sets market incentives for renewable energies in Germany. These factors set the backdrop for the report's five-year market segment forecast. "With Germany now representing 57 percent of the world PV market, an in-depth report on this market is the latest addition to Solarbuzz's suite of annual PV reports," said Craig Stevens, president, Solarbuzz LLC. "Germany is arguably the most commercially complex PV market at the moment. Starting this project back in August 2005, we have taken our time to unravel the picture, including utilization of in-country resources to complete the research", he added. "As a result of its size, the performance of the German PV market over the next two years will have significant consequences for commercial outcomes in virtually every other regional PV market in the world."
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