News | Energy Efficiency

http://www.newenergyworldnetwork.com/renewable-energy-news/by-technology/solar/european-solar-growth-outstrips-other-technologies-in-2010.html

The growth of solar installations outstripped all other forms of renewable energy in terms of new capacity in Europe during 2010, new figures reveal.

In total, 13GW more solar installations were built than other clean power technologies, according to trade body the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA).
The output of this combined capacity corresponds to the equivalent electricity produced by two large coal-fired power plants.
At the end of 2010, the cumulative installed capacity of photovoltaic (PV) capacity in the European Union amounted to more than 28GW.
Ingmar Wilhelm, president of the EPIA, said, ‘The growth of PV has simply been impressive in 2010. Decreasing cost, new applications, strong investor interest and continued political support have contributed to this development, making PV the number one green technology in terms of capacity addition in Europe.
‘PV has become an established technology, which is contributing to the progressive decarbonisation of our energy mix and which should be further exploited by member states to reach their 2020 renewable targets.’
More than 70 per cent of all new installations come from small- and medium-sized PV systems, Wilhelm said.
‘PV is in fact the people’s choice in renewable technologies as they can participate directly and contribute personally to a better environment.’
Despite cuts to its feed-in tariffs, Germany has been the global PV market leader, adding over 6.5GW of installations, on top of the 9.8GW that is already installed.
Meanwhile, for the first time the yearly installations in Italy and the Czech Republic surpassed 1GW.
Hot on their heels, were Belgium, France and Spain – all of which the EPIA said saw very significant volumes in 2010.
‘PV markets have never performed so well in their entire history. While the awareness about the PV’s capabilities grows in the public opinion, it now appears on the energy map of several countries. In Spain penetration went up to four per cent of the electricity production during 2010 summer,’ the EPIA said.
In 2010, prices for large systems decreased as low as 2.5 euro/watt in some countries. In several countries, grid parity for residential systems is reachable in the coming years, EPIA said.