The global pipeline of photovoltaic (PV) projects now stands at 132 gigawatts (GW), of which 10 GW are under construction, according to the PV Project Database published on a monthly basis by IHS Technology.
At a combined capacity of 61 GW, projects in the U.S. and China make up almost half of the current PV pipeline. IHS considers a great chunk of the planned projects as immature, unlikely to materialize under current policy frameworks.
In total, the U.S. has 35 GW of PV projects in various phases of development. A great chunk of these projects initiated development in 2011-2012, but have yet to sign PPAs. IHS considers that large projects that fail to sign PPAs by mid-2015 are unlikely to materialize before the ITC expires in 2016. California remains the hotspot for very large PV plants as it reached 3.2 GWDC of installed projects larger than 20 MW when the 170 MWAC Centinela plant was commissioned in August. According to IHS, the state has another GW of equally large projects under construction.
The second largest market in terms of PV pipeline is unsurprisingly China with 26 GW of planned PV projects, of which 3.7 GW are under construction. The pipeline keeps growing as local companies develop new large-scale projects. Most recently, China’s largest system integrator, TBEA SunOasis announced a pipeline of 1.2 GW. In July, SunEdison announced it would enter the Chinese market via a partnership with Huantai to pursue 1.7 GW. Apart for specific partnerships, PV in China remains a local affair. The same month as SunEdison revealed its plans, First Solar abandoned a planned 2 GW project after four years of development.
Beyond the major PV markets, Chile stands out with a 9 GW pipeline compared to an installed capacity of just 100 MW at the end of 2013. The country’s intense PV construction activity is raising issues with grid-connections, which can complicate future projects. Chile currently has close to 600 MW of PV projects under construction and an equal amount close to breaking ground.
Access to the grid has also become an issue in the sunniest regions of the U.K., where most of the PV installed to date is located. PV construction activity is now spreading from the south-west to other parts of the country. The U.K. PV pipeline has grown to 7.2 GW. A great share of these projects aim to beat the deadline for utility-scale projects to be completed before the planned end to the ROC scheme in April 2015. IHS forecasts that close to 4 GW of PV could be installed from Q3 2014 through to the end of Q1 2015; this would nearly double the installed capacity of the U.K. in just 9 months.
Related links:
News articles:
Samsung Seeks Differentiation with Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge
Why FPGAs are a Good Fit for Automotive Driver Assistance Systems
MEMS Foundry Deal Could Open Larger Opportunities for UMC
Fins Ain't What They Used To Be
Samsung’s SmartThings Acquisition: A Sign of Things to Come?