New data released by the analysts at Wiki-Solar confirms what many would already guess — Germany is still the largest of the world’s top three utility-scale solar photovoltaic markets, running ahead of China and the US.
Maybe somewhat surprisingly, though, China has worked its way up to a very close second. With regards to projects over 10 MWp, China is now at 2,806 MWp, compared to Germany’s 2,846 MWp. The US is in a somewhat more distant third, with 2,106 MWp installed. Germany is also leading the pack with regards to projects of over 5 MWp capacity.
And while there have been some improvements, and “media hype,” Japan is currently running at 17th. The Japanese market, though, is predicted “to experience a 120% growth spurt in 2013 with a total of 5 GW installed capacity expected this year,” as PV-Tech notes, which would potentially make it “the second largest market of 2013, behind China.”
The UK has also recently worked its way up, now ranking in the top 20, “with 16 large projects, including five of 10 MW or more which were completed in the first quarter of 2013.” The UK’s largest project is a 33 MW project constructed on a former airfield — Wymeswold by Lark Energy. Solar power plants seem to fit well on abandoned airfields.
