A new research report from Lux Research predicts that the solar photovoltaic market is expected to grow to a $155 billion industry by 2018, “as market forces engineer a turnaround to a healthy 10.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).”
The report produced a “most likely scenario” in which the PV market will grow at a modest rate to 35 GW this year before increasing in growth to reach 61.7 GW by 2018.
“Manufacturers’ nightmare is turning into a long-term boon for the industry. Record low prices pushed gross margins to near zero or below, but they’ve made solar installations competitive in more markets,” said Ed Cahill, Lux Research Associate and the lead author of the report titled, “Market Size Update 2013: Return to Equilibrium.”
“Supply and demand will come back into balance in 2015, easing price pressure, returning manufacturers to profitability and restoring the industry to equilibrium,” he added.
The research done by Lux Research was based on a detailed levelised cost of energy (LOCE) analysis in 156 separate locations, accounting for 82% of the world’s population, in an effort to determine the viability and competitiveness of solar in each market.
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