According to EnergyTrend, demand for PV self-consumption continues to increase in Europe due to decreased feed in tariffs and increased electricity price and surcharge fees for grid-connection. Moreover, the installation area of roof-top systems is somewhat limited, thus users pay more attention on the amount of electricity generated. This, along with concerns toward visual and aesthetic quality, has caused demand for mono-si cells to increase significantly.
Mono-si cell orders have risen substantially among Taiwan's cell makers recently. The proportion of mono-si cell shipments has also risen for manufacturers. EnergyTrend said that the proportion of mono-si cell shipments from Taiwan's first-tier makers has increased from 5% in the beginning of the year, to more than 20%. Starting from the second quarter of 2013, mono-si cell demand has started to increase. Orders in the second half of the year are likely to continuously increase because of the growth in the Japan market. In addition, demand in the fourth quarter may further increase. Mono-si cell efficiency has remained above 19.2%, and will likely rise to 19.4% from fourth-quarter 2013 to first-quarter 2014.
On the other hand, with the concept of self-consumption gradually maturing, roof-top systems have become the mainstream in regions with a mature PV market. 53% of the roof-top systems were used in residential and commercial areas in Europe in 2012. EnergyTrend estimated that the proportion will increase to around 55% in 2013 and close to 60% by 2014. Aside from residential and commercial areas, roof-top systems can also be used on industrial areas as the proportion of self-consumption in industrial areas begins to increase, which will also help raise the ratio of roof-top systems in the global PV market.
The roof-top market currently represents 60% of the global PV market. The percentage is the highest, about 80%, in Europe and around 50% in North America and Asia Pacific. The market share of roof-top systems will continuously increase in Europe. Moreover, under the influence of other PV policies, mono-si products will become the major products promoted by Taiwan makers.
