Sustainability Report - Bank Sarasin-Alpen

Solar Energy 2005
production output, thin-film technologies (amorphous silicon, CdTe, CIS, etc.)
were unable to keep pace with the market.
Despite optimisation,
significant cost savings only
possible with new technologies
We think the shortage of silicon will encourage the development of more efficient
technologies. In crystalline silicon technology, the focus is on thinner wafers with
bigger dimensions and improved efficiency. Most providers are not attempting to
make any fundamental changes in the design and manufacture of cells, and
have still managed to achieve significant progress so far with this strategy.
Fig. 7: Market shares of different solar cell technologies
100%
Monocrystalline Polycrystalline Ribbon/Sheet a-Si CdTe CIS
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Source: Photon, April 2005
Technological innovation
across a broad front
The second strategy manufacturers pursue is to research innovative materials
and technologies and try them out in pilot production. These initiatives entail a lot
of research and considerable risks, but they also potentially offer big cost savings
in the long run by substantially improving efficiency ratios. Innovations include,
for example, ultra-thin crystalline cells, tandem and concentrator cells or
organic solar cells.
The major PV markets
Installed PV
capacity up 62%
Germany takes over the
lead from Japan
Preliminary comment: In contrast to information provided previously about the
quantities of solar cells produced, in what follows we are dealing with PV capacity
actually installed in the form of PV systems. According to IEA-PVPS, globally
installed PV capacity reached approximately 840 MW in 2004 (PVPS countries
770 MW + non-PVPS countries 70 MW) while the market report published by
Solarbuzz put the figure as high as 927 MW. This is equivalent to growth of 43%
(or 62%) on last year.
Last year Germany overtook Japan with growth of 137%, to achieve 363 MW of
newly installed capacity. In Japan 272 MW were installed last year, an increase
of 22% on 2003. These two countries now account for 68% of globally installed
PV systems. In 2004 growth in the US came to 43%, to reach 90 MW newly installed
capacity. The dominant nations in installing PV capacity are still Germany,
Japan the US (in that order). Together they accounted for roughly 86% of
the newly installed global capacity in 2004. These countries have dominated the
industry for years, as reflected in the cumulative totals for installed capacity.
Here Japan leads the way (1,132 MW), followed by Germany (794 MW), the US
Dezember 2005 18