Quantcast
Powered by RebelMouse

Half of World's Solar Demand to Come From Asia-Pacific Region in 2014

Brandon Baker
Dec. 26, 2013 09:45AM EST Business

The longtime trend of European countries leading the world in solar energy installations is coming to an end within a year or two, a new report predicts.

Demand will skyrocket in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region next year, accounting for more than 50 percent of all new solar photovoltaic (PV) demand in the world next year, according to NPD Solarbuzz's Asia Pacific PV Markets Quarterly report. APAC countries are expected to install more than 23 gigawatts (GW) of solar PV in 2014, which would set a new record for solar PV installed annually within any region.

That number is larger than Europe's leading 19.2 GW installed in 2011 and more than the entire global PV industry installed in 2010.

“APAC will dominate both manufacturing supply and end-market demand in 2014, with more than 80 percent of module production also coming from the region,” NPD Solarbuzz analyst Steven Han said. “This milestone marks the final chapter in the transition from historic European domination to a new PV industry, where supply and demand from APAC will determine the basis of the 50 GW global PV industry going into 2015.”

Solar PV demand from the APAC region between 2010 and 2014. Graphic credit: NPD Solarbuzz

The region's rising demand accounts for a 35-percent increase from 2013. More than 85 percent of the new installations will be built in China and Japan. The Chinese Bureau of Energy has announced a 12-GW target for 2014, with eight on rooftops and four on the ground. Japan seeks 20 GW to follow the country’s 230-percent annual growth in 2013, according to the report.

Thailand is the next market in the region set to shine, NPD said. The country’s National Energy Policy committee has proposed 800 megawatts (MW) of community-based solar capacity, with an additional 200 MW to come from solar rooftops. Trina Solar, China's second-largest solar panel provider, agreed last week to supply 25 MW of modules for the Bangchak Solar Energy Project in Thailand.

Thailand is aiming for 1 GW of solar power by the end of next year, and 2 GW by 2021.

Another firm, Mercom Capital Group projects 43 GW to be installed across the world next year.

Visit EcoWatch’s RENEWABLES page for more related news on this topic.

renewables business

EcoWatch Daily Newsletter

climate crisis

Climate Crisis Caused High Healthcare Costs in 2012

Health + Wellness
Aerial assessment of Hurricane Sandy damage in Connecticut. Dannel Malloy / Flickr / CC BY 2.0

Extreme weather events supercharged by climate change in 2012 led to nearly 1,000 more deaths, more than 20,000 additional hospitalizations, and cost the U.S. healthcare system $10 billion, a new report finds.

Read More Show Less
climate crisis extreme weather hurricane sandy hurricanes
conservation

Conservation Group to Buy World’s Largest Privately Held Sequoia Forest for $15M

Business
Giant sequoia trees at Sequoia National Park, California. lucky-photographer / iStock / Getty Images Plus

A Bay Area conservation group struck a deal to buy and to protect the world's largest remaining privately owned sequoia forest for $15.6 million. Now it needs to raise the money, according to CNN.

Read More Show Less
conservation forests california alder creek
Sponsored
environmental justice

Rugby World Cup Highlights Climate Injustice

Climate
This aerial view shows the Ogasayama Sports Park Ecopa Stadium, one of the venues for 2019 Rugby World Cup. MARTIN BUREAU / AFP / Getty Images

The Rugby World Cup starts Friday in Japan where Pacific Island teams from Samoa, Fiji and Tonga will face off against teams from industrialized nations. However, a new report from a UK-based NGO says that when the teams gather for the opening ceremony on Friday night and listen to the theme song "World In Union," the hypocrisy of climate injustice will take center stage.

Read More Show Less
climate crisis rugby world cup environmental justice
covering climate now

For Many Reporters Covering Climate, Population Remains the Elephant in the Room

Insights + Opinion
Vera_Petrunina / iStock / Getty Images Plus

By Wudan Yan

In June, New York Times journalist Andy Newman wrote an article titled, "If seeing the world helps ruin it, should we stay home?" In it, he raised the question of whether or not travel by plane, boat, or car—all of which contribute to climate change, rising sea levels, and melting glaciers—might pose a moral challenge to the responsibility that each of us has to not exacerbate the already catastrophic consequences of climate change. The premise of Newman's piece rests on his assertion that traveling "somewhere far away… is the biggest single action a private citizen can take to worsen climate change."

Read More Show Less
covering climate now climate change climate crisis
covering climate now

On Climate and Food, What’s the Lesson We Insist on Missing?

Food
Volunteer caucasian woman giving grain to starving African children. Bartosz Hadyniak / E+ / Getty Images

By Frances Moore Lappé

Food will be scarce, expensive and less nutritious," CNN warns us in its coverage of the UN's new "Climate Change and Land" report. The New York Times announces that "Climate Change Threatens the World's Food Supply."

Read More Show Less
covering climate now climate crisis food security agriculture food waste
Sponsored
covering climate now

Most People in the UK Back Limits on Flying to Tackle Climate Crisis

Climate
British Airways 757. Jon Osborne / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0

By Adam Vaughan

Two-thirds of people in the UK think the amount people fly should be reined in to tackle climate change, polling has found.

Read More Show Less
covering climate now climate crisis transportation air pollution travel
climate crisis

5 Free Events to Check out This Climate Week NYC

Climate
Climate Week NYC

On Monday, Sept. 23, the Climate Group will kick off its 11th annual Climate Week NYC, a chance for governments, non-profits, businesses, communities and individuals to share possible solutions to the climate crisis while world leaders gather in the city for the UN Climate Action Summit.

Read More Show Less
climate action sustainability conservation food waste climate crisis
covering climate now

How TV Weathercasters Are Fighting Climate Misinformation

Science
Screenshot / The Most Dangerous Part of Climate Change Denial

By Pam Radtke Russell in New Orleans

Local TV weather forecasters have become foot soldiers in the war against climate misinformation. Over the past decade, a growing number of meteorologists and weathercasters have begun addressing the climate crisis either as part of their weather forecasts, or in separate, independent news reports to help their viewers understand what is happening and why it is important.

Read More Show Less
covering climate now meteorologists climate crisis science