As solar markets in Europe are growing slowly, emerging solar markets have become the focus.
China and Japan achieve a combined market share of 25% of the global market in 2013. The US and India are both promoting solar with policies, hence installations in the two countries are expected to grow on-year, according to Digitimes Research.
The US solar market has been driven by policies. Since 2009, the federal government began providing a 30% tax credit while various state governments set installation targets to promote large-size solar PV installations. In particular, policies such as the California Solar Initiative (CSI) and Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SREC) have been the most effective in promoting installations. The only problem with SREC is the imbalance between demand and supply that has been causing prices to drop.
The targets of the first phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission in India has been achieved. However, the second phase currently faces a lack of funding. Although the government announced other plans to obtain funds, and the market is expected to grow continuously, growth is unlikely to reach government expectations.
Emerging solar markets in Europe experienced installation surges in previous years, but due to low targets, most countries reached their targets before their deadlines. This caused many countries to reduce feed-in-tariffs (FIT) to curb market growth.
