From niche market and small-scale applications to mainstream energy source – photovoltaics has been growing rapidly, or better yet – exponentially, over the past 20 years and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down.The solar energy is the energy of our future with fantastic growth potential. Period.At the end of 2015, a total of 229 gigawatts (GW) of photovoltaic (PV) capacity had been installed worldwide. In just 10 years, solar installations will equate to a 45-fold growth. Based on the scenario by IEA Technology roadmap for PV (2014) this amount could rise to 700 GW by 2020 and 1700 GW by 2030. According to other resources, for example SolarPower Europe (6/2015) high scenario, the amount could rise to 750 GW by 2020 and 3000 GW by 2030.
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Table 1: Evolution of global PV cumulative installed capacity
1 Global Market Outlook 2016-2020 report by SolarPower Europe
2 Fast scenario SolarPower Europe (6/2015)
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Source: From the Learning Curve to Competitiveness (9/2015)