World’s solar photovoltaic capacity passes 100-gigawatt landmark after strong year
Date : February 2013
By Craig Winneker, Head of Political Communications The world’s cumulative solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity capacity surpassed 100 gigawatts (GW) in 2012, achieving just over 101 GW, according to new EPIA market figures. This global capacity to harness the power of the sun produces as much electricity energy in a year as 16 coal power plants or nuclear reactors of 1 GW each. Each year, the world’s PV installations reduce CO2 emissions by 53 million tons.
The surpassing of the 100-GW mark occurred in yet another year of
strong global PV development, with an estimated 30 GW connected to
the grid and made operational in 2012 – roughly the same as the
record-setting level of 2011. These results are preliminary, and the
30 GW figure could be increased by an additional 1 or 2 GW when
final numbers come in. Final results for the year will be published
in May, in EPIA’s annual “Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics
2013-2017.”
“No one would have predicted even 10 years ago that we would see more than 100 GW of solar photovoltaic capacity in the world by 2012,” said EPIA President Winfried Hoffmann. “The photovoltaic industry clearly faces challenges but the results of 2012 show there is a strong global market for our technology. Even in tough economic times and despite growing regulatory uncertainty, we have nearly managed to repeat the record year of 2011.” http://www.epia.org/news/news/#news-9 |