The 2014 global solar module production market to be dominated by China

A report by the research and consulting firm GlobalData states that the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region will again hold its position as the global solar module production leader with probably another massive 90.4% of the world’s module production in 2014. The major centres for module manufacturing in the region are China and Japan–demand and supply for the global solar photovoltaic (PV) market (65%) in 2013 was dominated by China; leaving only a small 2% and 3% for the US and European markets respectively. “Significant and ongoing growth in solar PV market demand is powering the increase in global module production, which […]

A report by the research and consulting firm GlobalData states that the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region will again hold its position as the global solar module production leader with probably another massive 90.4% of the world’s module production in 2014.

The major centres for module manufacturing in the region are China and Japan–demand and supply for the global solar photovoltaic (PV) market (65%) in 2013 was dominated by China; leaving only a small 2% and 3% for the US and European markets respectively.

“Significant and ongoing growth in solar PV market demand is powering the increase in global module production, which we expect to rise from 40,806 megawatts (MW) in 2013 to 45,170MW this year. China will account for a significant 30,000MW of this production in 2014, while Japan and South Korea will follow with 3,700MW and 2,400MW, respectively.” says Ankit Mathur, GlobalData’s Project Manager for Alternative Energy.

The increase in demand of APAC modules has been a major factor in ensuring China’s grasp on the global crystalline module production market–and now can be considered as a giant in the region.

The boom in solar PV market demand has also reduced global production overcapacity from 151% in 2009 to 62% in 2013, says GlobalData.

With this demand expected to grow further in the future, many module manufacturers plan to boost their production capacity in 2014, which will see overcapacity increase again to an estimated 78%.