Solar Cell Market for Thin Film Technology is Estimated to Grow Rapidly for Many Years to Come
31 March 2008
Electronics.ca Publications, the electronics industry market research and knowledge network, announces the availability of a new report entitled "2008 Global and China Thin Film Solar Cell Industry Market Report".
The report looks at the potential for thin film to become a major technology that reduces the solar power cost and even the cost of the traditional fire power, which is currently the key energy source of today’s world. The report points out that the thin film will be the next renewable energy solution because the oil energy can only support no more than 30 years of the global consumption.
In 2004, the German Government Subsidy brought a great expansion of the global solar energy industry. Strong demands for the solar energy led to a solar grade polysilicon shortage and a very high profit margin for the global polysilicon manufacturers. In 2007, a great success of First Solar in the US brought a new era within the thin film solar cell industry.
As one of the major players in the thin film solar cell industry, First Solar has achieved high profit margin, greatly increasing revenue and high-reliable income expectation. The new report reveals that this First Solar’s success was brought by the factors, such as long term contracts with manufacturers within the European Union and the United States, as well as large-scale manufacturing without raw materials shortage.
Besides First Solar, Sharp in Japan has also started their large capacity thin film plan, and German Q-CELL Schott Solar has been investing a lot on thin film solar cell. Xinao Group in Hebei has also invested about 14 billion RMB on thin film business.
From an overall market standpoint, the average capacity growth of the global thin film solar module is estimated to expand at an average annual rate of 52 percent, and the average production growth rate of 64.5 percent in the next six years. These growth rates are higher than crystal silicon, which means that the thin film will gain more market share in the total solar module.
The report analyzes the manufacturing process and related technology information, as well as the market share by manufacturers, regions and, technology. It also discusses thin film solar cell productions supply sales demand market status and forecast, CdTe manufacturers and new thin film projects in China.
