Despite reduced prices and consolidation that will continue in the global solar industry in 2013, IHS, a leading research company, has predicted that the photovoltaic (PV) installations across the globe will increase, leading to the growth of the global solar industry. IHS has also prodicted that the demand-supply balance will get restored and China will emerge as the biggest global solar market in 2013.
Despite 2012 has been a bad year for the global solar industry due to consolidations, oversupply, falling prices, etc, yet, IHS foresees the situation to improve in 2013 and gloabal industry to do well next year.
According to the IHS report, consolidation will continue to affect the solar players in 2013, and from 750 in 2010, less than 150 upstream companies will continue in the business by the end of 2012, and many integrated companies, particularly in China, will close down by next year.
While the report suggests that falling prices will hit the global solar industry in 2013 as well, new PV installations are expected to grow by double digit. What is more worrisome is that the market revenues will decrease from US$94 billion in 2011 and US$ 77 billion in 2012, to US$ 75 billion in 2013.
However, PV module prices are expected to stabilise in 2013, as the demand-supply imbalance is get rectified.
