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The global PV market is predicted to see double-digit growth again in 2011, growing to 19 GW, according to IMS Research. Although the market in Germany, the world's largest, is still predicted to decline next year, IMS Research has identified dozens of new and existing markets that will help drive demand and counteract this fall. IMS Research also reconfirmed its earlier prediction that installations will easily exceed 16 GW this year - a figure much higher than others are predicting for the industry.
These latest results, which are also driven by IMS Research's detailed demand-based models of more than 60 key PV markets, revealed that whilst the German market may fall from around 8 GW this year, other key markets will more than make up the shortfall and installations will again grow at a double-digit rate. Installations in five markets alone will grow by 3 GW in 2011; the countries will account for 40% of global demand. PV Research Director Ash Sharma commented “Despite a projected fall of the German market, we are still very positive about the development of the PV market in 2011 and see the market growing to at least 19 GW. We see high demand from GW-sized markets such as Italy and USA continuing, as well as fresh demand from many emerging markets in Eastern Europe and Asia”.
Sharma added, “We've identified 18 markets that will each install at least 100 MW next year, up from just 8 markets in 2009. This is encouraging to the future health of the PV industry; it means it will eventually become much less dependent upon just one or two countries and less susceptible to huge swings in demand caused by changes to incentive schemes,” noted Sharma.
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