ANNOUNCEMENTS
The global cumulative installed capacity reached close to 1.2 TW in 2022, with around 175 GW of solar PV capacity installed globally in 2021, & nearly 240 GW in 2022, with 23 countries installing more than 1 GW. In the last two years, the global PV market grew 64%, despite the turmoil created by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as price and delivery tensions on the supply chain.
The solar PV market remained robust despite recent price shocks and delivery delays, while the leadership shifted from Europe to Asia in the last decade, especially China. At all steps of the solar PV value chain, production is largely focused on China, with:
• 79% of polysilicon production
• 99% of ingot/wafering
• 86% of cell production
• 80% of module production
The extreme concentration of the solar PV supply chain presents multiple risks, geopolitical and economic. The development of local solar PV manufacturing across the globe would bring advantages to the entire sector, from end customers to project developers as well as public authorities. Furthermore, to achieve net zero targets, it is imperative that other regions build their solar manufacturing supply chains.
There remain challenges in terms of investment, availability of low-cost financing, skilled labor & the need for capacity building, along with the availability and affordability of solar manufacturing equipment. But even then, the global increased demand growth should create tremendous opportunity for new entrants into the solar PV manufacturing and develop their own local supply chain.
On that note based on three scenarios – Minimal Transition, Ambitious Transition & Total Transition, we investigated four emerging markets of West Africa, East Africa, Middle East - North Africa & Latin America. Considering factors such as forecasted solar PV capacities, future production capacity, key requirements to set up a manufacturing value chain coupled with their technical capability & capital intensity, conducted a SWOT analysis, provide a short-medium-long term recommendations & designed “profiles” of these regions according to the degree of complexity, from lowest to highest to be used as strategies to apply to enter the solar PV manufacturing field into categories.
