World's solar PV capacity passes 100-GW milestone

The world's cumulative solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity capacity surpassed 100 GW in 2012, achieving just over 101 GW, according to new market figures released by the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA).

The 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 a 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. The 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 2013, in EPIA's annual Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics 2013-2017' report.

"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."

The year also showed an important shift towards a more global PV market, with 13 GW of PV installations occurring outside of Europe (compared to just under 8 GW in 2011) and nearly 17 GW in Europe (compared to nearly 23 GW in 2011). The top three European PV markets in 2012 were Germany (with 7.6 GW), Italy (3.3 GW) and France (1.2 GW). The top three non-European markets were China (with at least 3.5 GW and possibly as much as 4.5 GW), the U.S. (3.2 GW) and Japan (2.5 GW).