Global Solar Photovoltaic Panel Manufacturing Market Report 2022, by Technology, by End-Use, by Grid Type

Executive Summary

Major players in the solar photovoltaic panel manufacturing market are Trina, Canadian Solar, Jinko, Hanwha Q-Cell, SunPower, Panasonic Corporation, Q.ANTUM technology, Mitsubishi Electric, Suntech Power Holding Co. Ltd., and Vikram Solar.

The global solar photovoltaic panel manufacturing market is expected to grow from $177.20 billion in 2021 to $209.90 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.5%. The change in growth trend is mainly due to the companies stabilizing their output after catering to the demand that grew exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. The market is expected to reach $416.87 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 18.7%.

The solar photovoltaic panel manufacturing market consists of sales of solar photovoltaic panels for residential or commercial purposes. Photovoltaics (PV) is the technology for converting sunlight into electricity by using semiconductors which are present in PV cells. These PV cells are interconnected to form an array and are mounted to a frame. When the PV cells receives the sun rays, the electrons in the semiconductors are released and their movement generates an electric current. These PV cells are packaged behind glass to form photovoltaic modules with an average service life of 20-40 years.

The main grid types of solar photovoltaic panel manufacturing are grid-connected and off-grid. An installation that is not connected to the electricity grid is referred to as an off-grid solar photovoltaic system. This means that the entire amount of energy generated is stored and used on-site. Off-grid photovoltaic systems rely on energy stored in a battery bank to operate. The various technologies involved are thin-film, crystalline silicon and others that are used by residential, commercial and utility-scale end-users.

Favourable government initiatives such as tax subsidies and huge investments favours the growth of the solar photovoltaic panel manufacturing market. In India, MNRE (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy - Central Government) has set the target to achieve 227 Gigawatts (22,70,00,000 kilowatt) of electricity production from solar PV cells by 31 March 2022. To achieve this target, the Indian government is promoting solar PV cell production through huge investments and policies that influence the solar PV panel manufacturing market directly or indirectly. For instance, the government of India has sectioned an amount of $0.71 billion (5000 crores) for solar subsidies. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission scheme is being implemented by IREDA (Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd.) through NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development). The scheme provides 40% subsidy on capital costs of solar PV systems for units located in both urban and rural areas in India. India is also supported by Asian Development Bank (ADB), which announced a grant of USD 500 million towards rooftop solar PV panel systems, which will help the Indian government increase its renewable energy penetration by using solar energy. Another such example is the Swedish government, under Regulation No. 2009:689, authorizes grants for the installation of on-grid photovoltaic that started in July 2009 or later and is proposed to be completed by 31 December 2020.

The growth of the solar photovoltaic (PV) panel manufacturing market is restricted by unfair trade and sales practices in the market. The unfair trade practices hamper the growth of local industries as well as industries which are trading at a global level. For instance, the entry and sales of solar PV panels manufactured in China into North American and European markets at extremely low prices has led to complaints of unfair trade practices. In the US, the Trump administration have imposed a 30% one-year tariff on the import of solar PV cells to compensate for unfair trade practice, In Europe, the European Commission and the major Chinese manufacturers reached an agreement on the minimum prices and the shipping volume. Further, to curb the losses because of unfair trade practices, the US Department of Commerce established anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on Solar PV modules from China.

The solar photovoltaic panel manufacturing market is experiencing a number of significant trends that are focused on improving the rate of power production from the panels. Photovoltaic manufacturers are shifting towards monocrystalline cell technology from the more common multi crystalline cells and modules is a prominent trend faced by the solar photovoltaic panel manufacturing industry. These cells form the building block of photovoltaic panels. Monocrystalline panels have a high-power output, occupy less space, and last long because of the formation of cells in these panels allows more freedom for the electrons to move, resulting in a higher efficiency compared to multi crystalline cells. Many large-developers of solar photovoltaic panels manufacturing market have already increased their production of monocrystalline panels. For instance, monocrystalline solar, with an overall growth rate of 11.1%, is expected to hit $20.5 billion in 2020-2027 marking the emerging trend. Companies such as LONGi Solar, a subsidiary of LONGi Green Energy Technology is leading the mono-crystalline solar module manufacturers market. The company has experienced an increase in sales in the high-efficiency monocrystalline panels’ module segment. Further, companies such as LG Solar and JinkoSolar have also started investing more towards the manufacturing of solar photovoltaic panels with monocrystalline cell technology.

The entities in the solar photovoltaic panel manufacturing market has to abide by the regulatory framework decided by the government of the geographic region they are operating in. Such regulations are created to promote transparency, good faith, and understanding among the players in the market. Solar Energy Industries Association is one such regulatory body that provides guidelines for industries in the US solar energy industry. The SEIA Solar Business Code provides guiding principles for companies to conduct business without any unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices, guidelines related to advertising of the solar products of the company, guidelines related to sales and marketing of the company, and regarding the ownership of Renewable Energy Certificate (“REC”).

In March 2020, LONGi Solar, a Chinese manufacturer of high-efficiency mono-crystalline solar cells and modules acquired Ningbo Jiangbei Yize New Technology for $252.8 million. Through this acquisition LONGi Solar enhances the production capacity to over 10 GW. Ningbo Jiangbei Yize New Technology, a China-based solar manufacturer that develops, manufactures, and distributes solar photovoltaic products.

The regions covered in this report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa.

The countries covered in the solar photovoltaic panel manufacturing market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK and USA.

Companies Mentioned

A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes:

• Trina
• Canadian Solar
• Jinko
• Hanwha Q-Cell
• SunPower
• Panasonic Corporation
• Q.ANTUM technology
• Mitsubishi Electric
• Suntech Power Holding Co. Ltd.
• Vikram Solar
• JS Solar
• First Solar
• LG Energy
• Kyocera Corporation
• Luxen Solar Energy
• TPL Solar
• SunLink PV
• JA Solar
• Eco Delta
• REC Solar
• Suntech

Methodology