In response to demands for ever faster but equally reliable market status data, the International Survey Report for the year 2000 is now available.

Data from the 20 countries participating in the IEA  PVPS Programme (PVPS-20) shows a record increase in installed capacity, up 37% from the 1999 figure to 192 MW. This compares very favourably to the growth rates of 20-31% recorded by PVPS between 1992 and 1999. As in 1999, the large-scale, heavily subsidised rooftop programmes in Japan and Germany dominate the results with Japanese installations accounting for 109 MW and new German generation capacity exceeding 44 MW. Japan has also usurped Switzerland as the country with the most installed PV per capita (2,5 W/cap).

Unsurprisingly the influence of Japanese and German programmes in recent years is also reflected in the application segmentation, with 61% (437 MW) of the cumulative installed generation capacity now grid-connected. In 1992 when PVPS began monitoring developments in PV applications the figure was 29%. Over 90% of the grid-connected capacity is now in distributed generation systems, and while the off-grid annual market growth rate has been in the low teens and declining for the past three years, the grid-connected market has risen from 42% to 58% over the same period. Nevertheless, for 13 of the participating countries, off-grid systems still account for the majority of total capacity installed to date. Indeed in Australia, Canada, France, Finland, Israel, Korea, Mexico, Norway and Sweden off-grid PV exceeds 90% of total installed capacity.

Interestingly, the demand for new generation capacity in PVPS-20 and worldwide has largely been met by crystalline silicon modules, and so far the much anticipated boom in thin film production has not materialised. In fact production of amorphous silicon modules in the PVPS countries fell by approximately 20% in 2000 compared to the previous year. PVPS-20 module production, which accounts for 85-90% of the worldwide total was up 42% over the year to approach 238 MW. Of this 57% was manufactured in Japan, 24% in the USA, 17% in Europe and the remainder mainly in Australia. The relatively low production capacity utilisation of 61% is likely to be a reflection of a rapidly growing industry in which bottlenecks in component supply chains can be expected and for which facilities are in the process of being built, but are not fully operational.

The 2000 ISR records a slight fall in inverter prices for grid-connected applications. However, system prices were largely stagnant and indeed some markets showed slight price increases over the year, influenced by high demand compared to supply availability. In terms of employment, it is estimated that PV related R&D, manufacturing and support services (e.g. installation and maintenance) may account for 21 000 labour places in the participating countries. Hard copies of the 2000 ISR (Report no. IEA  PVPS T1-10:2001) can be requested from Task 1 national contacts. The report can be downloaded from this website. Much of the data, including the source National Survey Reports that form the basis of the ISR, are also available online at this website.

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