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IHS Markit: global solar PV

installations to grow 20% in 2022

GLOBAL GLOBAL solar photovoltaic (PV) installations said Josefin Berg, IHS Markit’s research manager
will see more than 20% growth in 2022 and of clean energy technology.
surpass the 200 GWdc barrier for the first time, Be that as it may, IHS Markit expects solar PV
despite continuing rising costs of production, installations to experience double-digit growth
according to a new report by IHS Markit. in 2021. Continued growth through 2022 would
That represents a total investment of at least mark the second year in a row that would have
$170bn. experienced double-digit growth of global
Until recently, declining PV system costs – installations in a high-price environment.
which decreased by more than 50% against the Costs of solar PV materials have risen
global average from 2013 to 2020 – have been a because of the intense logistic and supply chain
crucial factor in the exponential growth of the disruption over the past year. In addition, the
industry, with global installed capacity increas- announcement of new power restrictions in
ing 275% during that time. mainland China in the latter half of 2021 has
In 2021, however, PV systems costs have severely restricted the output of manufacturers
increased by 4% year on year, bringing new chal- in certain provinces, impacting production of
lenges to the burgeoning market, says the report. key materials such as metal silicon, polysilicon
Yet despite the higher-than-anticipated costs, and solar glass – further raising prices, said the
installations in key markets such as China, India, consultancy.
the United States and Europe are driving expan- From October 2020 to October 2021, the
sion again in 2021, with the highest growth com- price of polysilicon has grown more than 200%.
ing from the distributed generation segment, led IHS Markit estimates that, since August 2021,
by China. average module production costs have risen
This report is important because it sug- more than 15% and module prices are now back
gests the world remains far short of a pathway to the higher levels of 2019. Continued supply
to reaching net zero by 2050. According to the chain tightness is expected to maintain high
International Energy Agency (IEA), annual module prices until 2023, says the report.
additions of solar PV must amount to 630 GW “There is significant appetite across global
by 2030, and those of wind power must reach markets to invest in and develop solar installa-
390 GW, to achieve this goal. tions, but the supply chain is just not ready to
“The utility segment has been the most meet this level of demand, it needs time to adjust.
impacted in 2021, with multiple projects delayed We have seen this most clearly in the polysilicon
or cancelled. By contrast, the strong growth of market, which will continue to be a bottleneck
the distributed generation, i.e. residential, com- for solar PV growth into 2022, until planned new
mercial and industrial (C&I), sector has been capacity is ramped up from 2023 onwards,” said
one of the success stories of solar PV in 2021 – Edurne Zoco, executive director, clean energy
boosted by the fuel crisis and surging electricity technology at IHS Markit. ™
prices, particularly in markets across Europe,”

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 47 25•November•2021