Industry Intelligence – Global Solar Photovoltaic Module Market

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Solar Photovoltaic Module Demand Increased by 13% in 2020

The demand for solar PV modules is rising globally as countries are setting highly ambitious solar power expansion targets. During the period (2021 – 2027), the world will invest over $1 trillion in building solar power capacity which is higher than the expected cumulative investment in all other renewable energy sources like hydro, wind energy, biomass, and others. During the year 2020, the solar PV market increased by 14% in terms of installed capacity with a totally fresh installation of 130 GW. In the year 2020, the global solar PV installed capacity stands around 700 GW which is expected to exceed 2,000 GW by the year 2030. This will generate huge business opportunities for companies operating in the solar PV module market.

There are two basic reasons why countries are running after solar energy which are:

Willingness to become self-reliant in electricity production – Solar energy can play a very important role in the economic development of a country. There are many countries across the globe that are burdened with the import costs of fuel that they use to generate electricity. Examples of such countries are India, China, and many others. In the year 2020, China imported coal worth over $16 billion which is an exorbitantly huge amount. High fuel import is a major hindrance in the economic development of many emerging economies and solar energy can play an important role in solving this problem.

Reduce CO2 emissions – This is another very important reason why governments across the globe are emphasizing solar and other renewable energy sources. Around 25% of the global CO2 emissions are from electricity generation which involved the burning of fossil fuels. Countries across the globe are taking efforts to cut down their fossil fuel consumption and use alternative sources. Many countries across the globe have announced that they will reach a zero-emission stage by the year 2050.

Out of the two reasons listed above, it has been observed that the relative investments in the solar power sector are significantly higher in those countries that lack fossil fuel reserves and are producing electricity from imported fossil fuels. Examples of such countries are China, India, Brazil, many European countries, and others.

Monocrystalline vs Polycrystalline Solar PV Demand, 2020

The monocrystalline solar PV segment held around 88% of the total sales volume in 2020. The polycrystalline solar PV segment held the remaining 12% and is continuously losing market share. Within the monocrystalline module, there are two types of products in the market which are P-type modules and N-type modules. N-type monocrystalline solar PV modules had a marginal share of around 3% in 2020 but are growing relatively faster compared to the P-type.

Centralized ground-mounting vs distributed roof-top solar PV demand scenario

In 2020, centralized (utility-scale) solar PV accounted for close to 63% of the overall global solar PV installed capacity. The roof-top solar segment held the remaining 37%. The roof-top solar includes commercial, industrial as well as residential solar PV installations. In the current scenario, both these segments are attractive from a business perspective.

Top five countries with largest solar PV installed capacity, 2021

While solar PV installations are rising in most countries, the top five countries accounted for over 70% of the total installed solar PV capacity in April 2021. Below are the world’s top five solar energy producers along with their installed solar PV capacity:

China – 255 GW
United States – 98 GW
Japan – 70 GW
India – 40 GW
Germany – 52 GW

Top five largest photovoltaic (PV) module companies in India, 2021

Jinko Solar (China) – Jinko Solar is a leading player in the solar photovoltaic module market. The company earned a revenue of $5.4 billion in 2020 and earned a gross profit of around $1 billion. Jinko supplied a total of around 70 GW of solar PV by the end of 2020 and has a presence in over 160 countries across the globe. In 2020, Jinko Solar generated 20% of its revenue from China while the rest is from other countries across the globe.
- Capacity – 31 GW solar modules
- Actual module shipment (2020) – 19 GW
- Revenue growth (2019 to 2020) – 18%
- Estimated market share of Jinko Solar in global solar PV business (2020) – 15%
- Manufacturing facilities – China, United States, Malaysia
Longi Solar (China) – In 2020, Longi Solar is among the top players in the global solar PV industry. Longi earned a revenue of $8.4 billion in 2020. Out of this, solar PV modules contributed $5.6 billion while the rest was from other supplies like wafers & ingots, solar plant construction services, and others. In 2020, overseas sales contributed 55% to its total solar PV sales revenue while the China sales (home market) contributed 40%.
- Capacity – 30 GW solar modules
- Actual module shipment (2020) – 24.5 GW
- Revenue growth (2019 to 2020) – >60%
- Estimated market share of Longi Solar in global solar PV business (2020) – (18 – 20) %
Trina Solar (China) – Trina Solar earned a total revenue of $4.5 billion in 2020 and sold 15 GW of PV modules during the year and the revenue grew by 26% in 2020. Trina Solar is also involved in project design and EPC.
- Capacity – 22 GW solar modules
- Actual module shipment (2020) – 15 GW
- Revenue growth (2019 to 2020) – 26%
- Estimated market share of Jinko Solar in global solar PV business (2020) – 11.5%
Canadian Solar – Canadian Solar shipped 11.3 GW of solar PV modules in 2020. The company’s revenue increased by 9% from the previous year and was $3.5 billion in the year 2020.
- Capacity – 16 GW solar modules
- Actual module shipment (2020) – 11.3 GW
- Revenue growth (2019 to 2020) – 9%
- Estimated market share of Canadian Solar in global solar PV business (2020) – 8.7%
JA Solar – JA Solar shipped 15 GW of solar PV modules in 2020. The company has a presence in 135 countries across the globe and has 12 production plants.
- Capacity – 23 GW solar modules
- Actual module shipment (2020) – 15 GW
- Estimated market share of JA Solar in global solar PV business (2020) – 11%
Risen Energy (China) – Risen Energy produced around 10 GW solar modules in 2020 and earned a revenue of $2.45 billion. This is, however, the cumulative revenue of Risen from solar panels and its other offerings (project design & development, etc.).
- Capacity – 14 GW solar modules
- Actual module shipment (2020) – 10 GW
- Estimated market share of Risen Energy in global solar PV business (2020) – 7.5%

Solar PV module market – Demand vs supply scenario

In 2020, the total manufacturing capacity of the solar PV module manufacturing industry was close to 162 GW. This reflects that capacity utilization during the year was around 80%. However, market players are looking to expand the capacity in anticipation of a rise in the demand for solar PV in the near future. The installed capacity may reach around 200 GW by the end of 2022.

The research report titled “Global Solar PV (Photovoltaic) Panels Market, Business and Opportunity Analysis” published by Datavagyanik presents a detailed analysis with market statistics, qualitative insights, and market player analysis. One of the prime objectives of the report is to provide an assessment of the market potential, installed capacity, growth and market revenue of solar PV industry.

Key Insights that the India Solar PV market analysis report presents are:

Global Solar PV market revenue and demand by Country
Global Solar PV production and sales volume by Country
Target customers and product segments that are relatively more potential and are faster growing
Global Solar PV market competitive scenario, market share analysis
Global Solar PV market business opportunity analysis

Global Solar Photovoltaic Panels Demand and Supply Side Analysis

The report analyzes the Solar PV market from the demand as well as the supply side. In supply-side analysis, we reach out to the Global Solar PV market players to collect information on their portfolio, revenue, target customers, and other insights. During this process, paid interviews and surveys are conducted for obtaining and validating the data pointers. We also deep dive into the available paid industry databases, research studies, white papers, and annual reports.

As a part of our demand-side analysis, we reach out to the buyers of Solar PV, to gauge the application areas, demand trends, and similar insights.

Sample Data Tables Covered for Countries:

This business analysis report on the Global Solar PV market with country-level analysis. Information has been covered on Global Solar PV installed production capacity, production volume, and market size ($Million).

GLOBAL SOLAR PV MARKET REVENUE ($MILLION), PRODUCTION VOLUME, 2022–2028