When I sit down to write these editor’s notes, I do so at the end of the issue; at a time when all the content is in and done, and I can get a feel for the ‘temperature’ of the magazine.
I’m glad – very glad – to say that this is the first issue for a while where I’ve felt a genuine sense of optimism pervading the industry.
I don’t want to talk too soon and claim that all of our problems are behind us, but it seems we are back on track. You’ll find this mood reflected in many of the ‘Ask The Experts’ interviews dotted throughout the magazine, and in the editorial in general. It’s a subject we’ve devoted our lead feature to, and you’ll find plenty of hard evidence to back-up this feeling of (cautious) optimism throughout Europe.
The latest statistics from European Photovoltaic Industry Association back this up. 29.7 GW of PV systems were connected to the grid in 2011, up from 16.8 GW in 2010; and in terms of installed systems the estimated numbers are a minimum of 24.7 GW in 2011, up from a maximum of 21.8 GW in 2010. Plus, with approximately 70 GW cumulative global installations, PV is now, after hydro and wind power, the third most important renewable energy source in terms of globally installed capacity.
Not only that, but 21.9 GW were connected to the grid in Europe in 2011, compared to 13.4 GW in 2010; Europe still accounts for the predominant share of the global PV market, with 75% of all new capacity in 2011. As Dr. Winfried Hoffmann, EPIA’s President explains: “Over the medium- and long-terms the prospects for continued robust growth are good. The results of 2011 – and indeed the outlook for the next several years – show that under the right policy conditions PV can continue its progress towards competitiveness in key electricity markets and become a mainstream energy source.”
