This represents an increase of around 7 GW on the previous year in a global market that is expected to approach 43.8 GW by the end of the year, up from approximately 36.4 GW in 2014. According to Ankit Mathur, GlobalData’s Practice Head for Power, China’s cumulative installed PV capacity reached just under 28.1 GW by the end of 2014, of which 10.6 GW was installed that same year.
“For 2015, the country had previously set a target of making 15 GW of solar PV additions, comprising 7 GW of distributed generation and 8 GW of ground-mounted capacity” Mr Mathur said. “However, China has revised its annual target to 17.8 GW and is well on track to achieve this goal, given that about 5 GW of solar capacity was installed in Q1. These additions will allow the country to retain its world-leading status for annual solar PV additions.”
The GlobalData report also finds that the US is likely to become the second largest market in 2015, with Japan slipping to third place due to a decrease in its annual solar PV installations following two years of growth.
Mr Mathur added that in the US, annual installations are expected to remain high during 2015 and 2016 owing to tax incentives for power stations that come online before the end of 2016. Solar additions in 2015 are expected to hit 7–8 GW, largely due to continued policy support.
Completing the top five markets will be Germany, which will increase solar PV installations by 2 GW in 2015, and India, which will add between 1.5–2 GW.
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