The global expansion of solar energy is progressing rapidly, but European solar panel manufacturers hardly play a role anymore. Many manufacturers have given up on Chinese competition over the past decade.
This year, the global increase in installed solar energy capacity is expected to exceed the 500 gigawatt threshold for the first time, according to the German Solar Industry Association (BSW), based on international market studies. Last year there were 444 gigawatts worldwide, of which 2.6 GW in Austria and 15 GW in Germany.
This would put the Federal Republic in fourth place worldwide, behind China, the US and Brazil. Warmer European countries such as Spain and Italy are behind Germany with nine and over five gigawatts respectively.
Chinese superiority
The global market is dominated by Chinese producers. According to the Federal Statistical Office, 87 percent of photovoltaic systems imported into Germany in 2022 came from China. A positive outcome for buyers is a widespread decline in the price of solar panels. German module manufacturers were still international leaders in the early 2000s, as BSW director Carsten Körnig said. But many domestic manufacturers gave up on Chinese competition over the past decade.
According to the European umbrella organization Solar Power Europe, 253 gigawatts of solar energy capacity were added in the People’s Republic alone in 2023, accounting for 60 percent of the global expansion.
Private homeowners in the front
According to BSW director Körnig, there is now great interest from industry and business in solar energy in Germany, even though private homeowners are still expanding the fastest overall. In 2023, approximately 760,000 new private solar energy systems with a capacity of 7.6 gigawatts were installed, an increase of 140 percent compared to the previous year. Also in Austria, the majority of new panels are installed on the roofs of houses.
Solar energy systems on commercial roofs are much larger: although the number only increased by a relatively modest 17,000, the new installed capacity almost doubled to 2.7 gigawatts. In a survey of around 500 medium-sized companies commissioned by BSW, more than half indicated that they wanted to install a solar system on their company roof in the next three years.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
