2 October 2012

CPV installations to produce 1.2GW by 2016

According to a report (The World Market for Concentrated PV (CPV) – 2012) by market analyst firm IMS Research, the CPV market will double in 2012 to reach almost 90MW, with revenues predicted to increase by more than 60% to $325m. The report also forecasts that installations will grow rapidly over the next five years to reach almost 1.2GW by 2016.

“CPV suppliers are being forced to continually decrease costs in order to compete with the rapidly falling cost of PV systems. The technology is still relatively new and faces bankability issues. Despite this, CPV suppliers have made significant progress in the USA market, with a forecast 13% share of the target market in 2012, rising to a predicted 27% by 2016,” said report co-author and IMS Research Analyst Jemma Davies.

While the technology will remain niche, in the long-term the outlook for CPV remains positive. Installations are forecast to capture an 18% share of the target market (ground-mount systems with a direct normal irradiance DNI above 6kWh/m2/day) by 2016, says the report.

High-concentration PV (HCPV) systems are forecast to dominate the market in 2012, however low-concentration PV (LCPV) installations are forecast to accelerate over the next five years, capturing a 20% share of the CPV market by 2016.

“Currently LCPV suppliers have not entered the market aggressively, however with recognised companies such as SunPower poised to install a significant amount from 2013, these products are set to gain market share as a result,” adds report co-author Sam Wilkinson.

The most attractive markets for CPV will be the USA and Central America as well as Middle East and Africa (excluding South Africa), which will see CPV capturing up to a 27% share of the high-DNI target markets by 2016. In particular, regions such as South West USA, Chile, Saudi Arabia and Morocco are predicted to see high growth.

In 2011, the market was dominated (almost 90% of installations) by the top five suppliers. Amonix was the largest supplier. However, since the closure of its operations earlier this year and as the number of suppliers commercializing their products increases, the competitive landscape is expected to shift. Suppliers such as Soitec and SolFocus are expected to gain market share in 2012.

Tags: CPV

Visit: www.imsresearch.com