Asia-Pacific (APAC) will overtake Europe to become largest contributor to global solar Photovoltaic (PV) installed capacity by 2025 --- ‘China will be the regions largest contributor, installing an additional 198 GW of solar PV capacity by the end of the forecast period, says analyst

LONDON, UK (GlobalData), 22 September 2015- The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region will overtake Europe to become the largest contributor to global solar Photovoltaic (PV) installed capacity, increasing its cumulative installed capacity from 63.3 Gigawatts (GW) in 2014 to 345.33 GW by 2025, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData.

The companys latest report* states that this increase, which will occur at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 16.7%, follows a period of highly positive growth, when the regions capacity rocketed from 1.94 GW in 2006 to 63.33 GW in 2014, at an impressive CAGR of 54.6%.

Pavan Vyakaranam, GlobalDatas Associate Project Manager covering Power, says: "Commitments to solar energy from the APAC regions governments have resulted in various research and development initiatives and increased solar power plant installations, which will be key to driving the market‘s future growth.

"China will be the regions largest contributor, installing an additional 198 GW of solar PV capacity by the end of the forecast period, as the country is aiming for renewables to account for 20% of its total energy mix by 2020."

Among the other emerging markets in the APAC region, South Korea is a major centre for the development of solar technologies and the manufacture of modules, although the country is not a major consumer of solar modules due to its small geographic size.

Vyakaranam continues: "While South Koreas annual additions are small compared to other major markets, its cumulative solar PV capacity is expected to more than treble from 1.7 GW in 2014 to around 6 GW by 2025.

"This comes as the country has significant production capacity for solar modules and is able to mass-produce modules and supply them to several solar power markets at competitive prices."

GlobalDatas report adds that Japans solar PV capacity will also experience positive growth, climbing from 21.81 GW in 2014 to 52.02 GW by the end of the forecast period, maintaining the countrys position as the second largest market in the APAC region.

*Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Market, Update 2015 - Global Market Size, Market Share, Average Price, Regulations and Key Country Analysis to 2025