A slowdown in photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturing rates is leading manufacturers to downsize and consolidate their businesses.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has reported that PV module production growth was four per cent per annum from 2011 to 2013. This compares to an average annual growth rate of 78 per cent from 2006 to 2011, it said.
The market is reacting to the slow growth rate in module production and the resultant decrease in utilization of PV manufacturing capacity by downsizing and consolidation among companies.
According to the IEA, Germany reported that there was a total of 11 000 employees working in 40 PV companies in the country at the end of 2013, compared with 32 000 employees working in 62 companies at the end of 2008.
Similar trends have been reported in China, where the number of PV module and cell manufacturers has fallen by two-thirds to 100, according to the EIA.
PV module manufacturing peaked in 2011, when production was 36.6 GW and capability was 52 GW. This utilization rate of 70 per cent declined to 66 per cent in 2013.
China continues to be the largest producer of PV modules, manufacturing 23 GW in 2012 and 26 GW in 2013, mainly to serve export markets.
Demand for PV modules will be driven largely by government policy. China has announced a new goal of installing 100 GW of PV capacity by 2020. More than 50 countries have announced national solar targets, amounting to more than 350 GW of cumulative installed capacity by 2020, according to the EIA.
