ITALY TAKES WORLD SUN LEAD

Italy Set to Surpass Germany as World’s Leading Solar Market This Year
14 December 2011 (World of Photovoltaics)

"Italy this year added more solar capacity than any other country thanks to attractive tariffs and changing subsidy schemes…After two years at the top, Germany this year is likely to lose its place as the world’s top photovoltaic (PV) solar market, slipping to No. 2… [T]he United States [wiil be] in third place, with 2.7 GW worth of installations in 2011; China in fourth, with 1.7 GW; Japan in fifth with 1.3 GW and France in sixth with approximately 1.0 GW of new installations…

"In all, new global installations this year will reach 23.8 GW, up a robust 34 percent from 17.7 GW in 2010…[C]omponent prices in the solar supply chain—stretching from wafers to modules—are on the decline…[For] Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers in Germany, desperation selling…[drove] module prices to levels reaching 0.68 euros per watt."

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"…[Decreased 2012] demand in Europe will lead to further price battles…with overall module prices forecast to reach 0.65 euros—or $0.80—in March 2012…The primary field of contention will be module and polysilicon prices. Already, spot pricing for polysilicon has dropped below $30 per kilogram…and spot prices of $20 are possible by [Spring 2012]…[But] the overall picture could improve…

"…System prices are expected to stabilize in the fourth quarter [2011] at 1.50 euros per watt for ground and at 1.80 euros for rooftops, due to increasing orders…Worldwide demand…is expected to pick up by April 2012, driven by demand in Europe as well as by supportive local programs… in China and the emergence of new markets such as India…A [better PV business] could well emerge by the end of the first half of 2012…if demand returns as a reaction to the low system prices…"