The PV Status Report 2011 published by the EU's Joint Research Centre, shows that the global production of photovoltaics has almost doubled in 2010, while prices have dropped 50% over the last three years.
It predicts that investments in photovoltaics will double by 2015.
5 September 2011: The European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) has published a report that indicates that the global production of photovoltaics (PV) has more than doubled in 2010, making it one of the world’s fastest growing industries.
The tenth edition of the PV Status Report summarizes and evaluates the results of a survey of over 300 companies worldwide, showing that the EU is leading in PV installations, providing more than 70% of the total world-wide solar PV electricity generation capacity as of the end of 2010.
Furthermore, the report shows that China has become the major manufacturing centre for solar cells and modules followed by Taiwan, Germany and Japan, while prices of solar modules have decreased by almost 50% over the last three years. Investments in PV technology are expected to double by 2015, while prices are predicted to decrease further. [Publication: PV Status Report 2011] [European Commission JRC Press Release]