PV installation rates in 2014 slowed to reach 40 GW – IEA

The year 2014 marked a slow down in solar photovoltaic installations compared to the previous years of fast market development, according to figures from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The IEA’s Trends in Photovoltaic Applications report says that around 40 GW of PV capacity was installed worldwide in 2014, raising the total installed capacity to over 177 GW, with over 1% of global electricity demand now coming from PV. Japan and the US drove the growth in 2014.

The numbers come directly from countries feeding into the IEA’s Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (PVPS) plus estimates of other major markets.

Asian countries represented the primary regional market for PV for the second year in a row, with China (10.6 GW installed) and Japan (9.7 GW) representing 50% of all installations in 2014. The US installed 6.2 GW while Europe installed 7 GW (a drop for the third year in a row). Outside of developed markets, Chile and South Africa saw strong growth.

In terms of stimuli for installation, feed-in tariffs (FiTs) remain the dominant driver for PV market development, with 59% of PV installations in 2014 having been underpinned by FiTs. The share of new business models, including competitive power purchase agreements, tendered FiTs and self-consumption-driven installations rose to facilitate more than 22% of installation.

The cost of PV modules continued to decrease in 2014, and the industry produced more modules than the world demand.