Solar PV: Production and Sales Rise Sharply

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• Solar cell production increased 51% in 2007, to 3,733 megawatts.
• Since 1996, enough solar PVs have been installed worldwide to meet the annual energy demands of 3 million European homes.
• Over the past 5 years, annual global production of PV cells has increased sevenfold.
• Europe—led by Germany—has passed Japan to lead the world in PV manufacturing.

But this growth in PV manufacturing and installation coincides with shortages of polysilicon, a material used to produce solar cells. New production capacity is expected to come online in the second half of 2008.

Read on for essential statistics on solar cell production and installation, country-specific solar PV trends, and an analysis of future PV pricing and investment.

Read the Vital Signs Update: Another Sunny Year for Solar Power

See the full list of available Vital Signs trends. For a limited time, complete trends are available for $10 each. Trends include a printable version of the analysis, graphs and data sets in an Excel spreadsheet, and exclusive access to endnotes and sources.