Thin-film PV report on landscape to 2020

DUBLIN, IRELAND: Research and Markets has announced the addition of GlobalData's new report "Thin-Film PV - Global Market Size, Price Analysis, Regulations and Competitive Landscape to 2020" to its offering.

The global solar photovoltaics (PV) market is dominated by silicon-based technology. Thin-film technology evolved from the early 2000s, but production remained marginal until 2006. Further, the crystalline silicon PV supply experienced a polysilicon shortage and became prohibitively expensive, thereby shifting the focus of solar PV module manufacturers towards thin-film module technology. Thin-film modules, benefiting from advancing technologies, have since experienced increased market presence in the solar PV market, growing from 8 percent in 2006 to 17 percent in 2010.

The growth of the global thin-film market over the past five years has been remarkable. Production grew at a CAGR of 105 percent from 2006 to 2010. This growth was due to various market drivers such as, a contraction in Crystalline Silicon (c-Si) modules supply due to polysilicon shortage, the development of favorable policies by federal governments and thin-film technology advancements. Many new players arrived on the scene and established crystalline module manufacturers increased their profits, mitigated risks and expanded their product portfolios.

By 2010, thin-film production reached 3,627 Megawatts (MW), capturing 17 percent of the global solar PV market. With the technological advancements towards the development of efficient and cost effective thin-film modules, the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16 percent over the period 2010-2020, reaching 15,895 MW of market volume by 2020.