19 September 2012: The International Energy Agency (IEA) has published “Trends in Photovoltaic Applications – A Survey Report of Selected IEA Countries Between 1992 and 2011.” These trends are analyzed in the context of the business, policy and non-technical environment in the reporting countries.

This report presents the results of the 17th international survey providing overview of PV power systems applications, markets and production in the reporting countries and elsewhere at the end of 2011 and analyzes trends in the implementation of PV power systems between 1992 and 2011. The objective of these annual trend reports is to present and interpret developments in both the Photovoltaic (PV) systems and components being used in the PV power systems market and the changing applications for these products within that market.

The report highlights a diversity of PV production applications and policy interests, noting that almost 28 GW of PV capacity was installed in IEA Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (PVPS) countries during 2011 alone, with the greatest proportion of PV capacity installed in Italy and Germany. In 2011, it states that the global business environment changed drastically for the PV industry, shifting from a seller’s market to a buyers market due to the magnitude of capital investment in production and rapid increases in efficiency of PV products combined with simultaneous price reductions.

According to the report, grid-connected markets continue to extend their dominance and now account for over 98 % of the cumulative installed PV capacity. It indicates that off-grid markets largely tend to be ignored in the surveyed countries, and that while they have seen robust sustained growth over decades, they remain largely unsupported by public funding. [IEA PVS Survey report of selected IEA countries between 1992 and 2011]