North America Solar to Exceed Germany in 2012: Chart of the Day

By Alex Morales - Apr 14, 2011 6:00 PM ET

North America is set to overtake Germany for the first time in 13 years to become the biggest market for new photovoltaic installations, Barclays Capital estimates.
The CHART OF THE DAY shows 4,455 megawatts of solar panels will be hooked up on roofs and fields in the U.S. and Canada in 2012 and 3,500 megawatts in Germany, according to projections by the unit of Barclays Plc. North America last topped Germany in 1999, when the three nations together fitted less than 40 megawatts, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
Germany, which led the world last year by adding 7,450 megawatts, will trim subsidies in July. Annual installations “have probably peaked because they have so much penetration already,” said Martin Simonek, a New Energy Finance analyst in London. In Canada, Ontario province improved subsidies in 2009 and is attracting developers from around the world.
“The growth in North America is sustainable,” Simonek said. “In the U.S., the mandated amounts of procured renewable energy are growing every year, meaning utilities have to source more electricity from renewable sources.”
Growth in the U.S., where there are more commercial solar farms, may benefit Chinese companies, while more expensive European panels do better in rooftop markets like Germany, said Simonek, whose research group forecasts the North American market to overtake Germany a year later than Barclays Capital.
Germany, with the biggest growth in photovoltaic capacity for six of the past seven years, also leads the world in total capacity, with 17,000 megawatts fitted by the end of 2010. The U.S. had 2,500 megawatts.
To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net