Demand for Solar Cells and Panels Set to Decline, Consultant Predicts
The solar industry is poised to experience a 17 percent drop in sales in 2009, despite the massive amount of public and private money supporting the sector.
Solar power companies are expected to sell about 4.6 gigawatts of solar cells and panels in 2009, compared with about 5.5 gigawatts in 2008, reports GreentechSolar, citing estimates by Paula Mints, a principal analyst at Navigant Consulting. Mints says that it would be the first time the solar market experiences a drop in sales.
Germany is expected to account for 56 percent of these sales, taking market shares away from Spain, which experienced a decline after the government capped the country’s solar incentive program at 500 megawatts.
2010, Navigant’s Mints says, could either see the industry plateau or grow by 10 percent. As is, all eyes are on Berlin and the plan by its newly elected conservative government to cut the country’s feed-in tariff. The move could puncture sales next year and would definitely impact vendors like First Solar or SunPower.
Last week we wrote about Barclays Capital’s solar analyst Vishal Shah’s more bullish report that predicted 7.4 gigawatts of demand for solar power in 2010 and Germany leading overall installations at 2.9 gigawatts.
