The "The US Solar PV Backsheet Market - Industry Trends and Opportunity Analysis to 2015" report provides market analysis and volume forecasts up to 2015 in the US. The report contains detailed analysis of PV backsheets installed, pricing, market revenues, share of imports and exports, backsheet demand based on domestic module production, lead time analysis and key product analysis.

The US Solar PV Backsheet Market - Industry Trends and Opportunity Analysis to 2015

A.B.G.Thilak | GlobalData

The research analyses the key drivers, major issues and growth opportunities in the US PV backsheets market. The report provides the overall solar PV industry landscape in the US and contains historical and forecast PV installed capacity, power generation, share of ongrid – offgrid solar PV development and share of states in grid connected solar PV. Elaborate profiling of major industry participants, information on the regulatory framework and key policies governing the industry has also been dealt with in detail.

The Global Solar PV Backsheet Market Will Continue on its Growth Momentum

The global solar PV backsheet installed capacity has been increasing year by year, from 210.8MW in 2001 to 5,701.8MW in 2009 at a CAGR of 51%. Europe is the largest solar PV backsheet market in the world, accounting for 79.1% of the global backsheet installed capacity. The global PV backsheet market is being driven by the increased financial incentives offered by the federal and state governments to the solar PV industry. The reduction in production costs, coupled with technological advances and government policies have contributed the most to the expansion of the sector. This, along with the R&D initiatives taken up by various research institutes, has led to the growth in the installed capacity. Against this backdrop, the global solar PV power backsheet installed capacity is expected to grow from 5,701.8MW in 2009 to reach 14,299.9MW by the end of 2015 at a CAGR of 16.6% for the period 2009- 2015.

Global Backsheet Market Revenues to Reach to an Estimated $1,123.3m by 2015

The global backsheet market is growing at a fast pace backed by a strong growth in the solar PV industry in many countries Germany, Spain, France, Italy and the US. The global solar PV backsheet market revenues increased from an estimated $460.3m in 2008 to reach $498.7m in 2009, a year on year increase of 8.3%. The high market growth for PV backsheets can be attributed to the maturing German market. Though the country will continue to be the biggest market for PV backsheets market in years to come with increasing backsheet revenues, its share of the global market will continue to fall with the emergence of new PV hotspots. With emerging markets such as India, China, the Republic of Korea, Canada, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Greece and Bulgaria increasing their presence in the PV market, it is expected that the market will reach to an estimated revenues of $1,123.3m by 2015 at a slower forecast CAGR of 18.4%.

The US Dominates the North American PV Backsheets Market

North America solar PV backsheet market is dominated by the US, which accounted for over 93.5% of annual additions in 2009. North American PV backsheet installed capacity increased from 23.6MW in 2001 to 435.8MW in 2009 at a CAGR of 43.9%. Financial incentives provided through utility, state and federal programs are the major drivers for the PV backsheet market in North America. The North American market for solar PV is expected to rise to 2,246.0MW by 2015 at a CAGR of 31.4% during 2010-2015.

The US is the largest PV backsheet market in North America and is one of the fastest growing markets in the world. The US PV backsheet installed capacity increased from 21.6MW in 2001 to 388.5MW in 2009, at a CAGR of 43.5%. Annual solar PV installations in the country are expected to consistently increase, leading to an increase in backsheet capacity from 496.6MW in 2010 to 1,905.7MW by 2015. The US PV backsheet market is expected to grow until 2015 on the back of highly supportive federal and state government policies. The US market for solar PV is expected to rise to 1,905.7MW by 2015 at a CAGR of 30.4% during 2010-2015.

The US Solar PV Backsheet Market is Driven by Government Support and Policy Initiatives

The growth momentum of the US solar PV market has been largely facilitated by the support mechanisms provided by the federal and state governments. The US federal government has provided funding of $3.1 billion to the states, as part of its economic stimulus package, to encourage PV installations and expand solar PV support programs. This is part of the country’s plan to encourage the growth of renewables in the energy portfolio. The US government has extended the production tax credit (PTC) and investment tax credit (ITC) parts of the stimulus plan for PV development. The government has also extended federal tax credits for solar PV. California, the leading solar PV market in the US, was the first to initiate the feed-in tariff (FIT) system in the country. These support mechanisms combined with other policies and incentives are expected to open up high-growth markets for PV backsheets in the US.

The US solar PV backsheet market revenues grew from an estimated $25.96m in 2008 to $34.96m in 2009, a year on year increase of 34.7%. Generous tariffs and financial packages are rewriting the market dynamics and revising market revenues for PV backsheets in the US market. The federal and state incentives are expected to bring in long-term investments and sustainable revenue growth for the PV backsheets market. Against this backdrop, the PV backsheets market in the US is expected to reach estimated revenues of $123.87m by 2015 at a forecast CAGR of 23.47%.

The US Solar PV Backsheet Market Trends – Declining Trend to Persist in the Prices

The average PV backsheet price in the US in 2009 was $9/m2. It declined by 3.2% from $9.3/m2 in 2008 to the current price level. There will be a further fall in the PV backsheet market in the forecast period due to the large number of players entering the US backsheet market, which will lead to oversupply and pressure from module manufacturers to reduce costs to reach grid parity. It is expected that the PV backsheet price will further fall to $6.5/m2 by 2015. The increase in PV installations, resulting in volume sales, is expected to compensate for the fall in backsheet prices in the US PV backsheet market.

The US Exports 94.7% of its Backsheets Produced to the Global Markets

Madico, Dunmore, Flexcon and Honeywell are the domestic backsheet manufacturers in the US. The US exports 94.7% of its produce to the international market and the rest is domestically consumed. The total backsheet exported in 2009 accounts to 4,545 MW. The US mainly exports its backsheets to European and Asian nations such as Germany, Italy and Japan. KREMPEL and Coveme are the major foreign backsheet manufacturers which export backsheets to the US market.

The US PV Backsheet Demand Increases Based on Module Production

The US solar PV module production has witnessed a tremendous increase in volume over the last five years. The annual module production in the US in 2009 was 780MW and it is expected that this will reach 6,100MW by 2015. The increase in domestically made modules will increase the demand for domestic backsheet consumption in the US. The domestic demand created due to increase in module production is expected to increase from 6.38 million m2 in 2009 to 49.57 million m2 by 2015. Of the 6.38 million m2 of domestic demand in 2009, Madico contributed 80% of the domestic consumption and the rest was contributed by other local and international players.

Madico Inc - A Global Leader in Backsheet Manufacturing

The US-based Madico Inc is the global leader in backsheet manufacturing. The company manufactured 40 million meters square of backsheets in 2009 and supplies its produce to major module manufacturers such as Tynsolar, SunPower, Evergreen Solar, REC Solar and JA Solar Holdings. Madico is followed by TOYO Aluminium, Isovolta, Coveme and KREMPEL respectively.

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