According to a new report titled ‘Investment Trends in the Renewable Industry’ from GlobalData, investments made in the solar power market have for the first time surpassed those made in the wind power market in 2011.
The total investments made in solar power represented 49% of the global renewable energy industry worth $209 billion, of which 34% share was from the wind power sector. Geothermal, small hydro and biopower investments represented the remaining 17%.
Renewable energy is gaining attention in developing countries throughout Asia and North Africa, where solar power is especially drawing big investments. China has announced several solar power projects to address the growing demand in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as well as to meet its own demand. Particularly, Shandong province is presently executing the ‘One Million Rooftops Sunshine Plan’ that aims at promoting solar panel integration into building construction.
At present, promising markets throughout Southeast Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and MENA aim at increasing the production of renewable energy, with special focus on the solar power sector. In India, investments in solar power will be driven by the National Solar Mission and in Malaysia, a renewable energy target of over 3,140 MW has been set to be achieved in 2020, of which solar power is predicted to represent one-third of the overall capacity.
This focus has spurred requirement for solar photovoltaic modules and Southeast Asian manufacturers, especially those in China, are expected to play a key role to fulfill this demand in the future. The excess production of photovoltaic modules has resulted in the reduction of prices and high capacity installations, which in turn increases the popularity of solar power. As a result, the cost of production has reached grid parity in some regions and has attracted big money.
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