The installed capacity of components has surged. According to the data from the European Photovoltaic Industry Association, the global photovoltaic (PV) installation in 2011 reached as high as 27.7GW, an increase of 70% compared to 2010. By the end of 2011, the cumulative PV installations globally amounted to a substantial 67.4GW.
The data from this organization confirms that Italy has surpassed Germany to become the largest country for new PV installations, with an installed capacity of 9GW, accounting for 33% of the total 27.7GW; Germany's installed capacity was also quite high at 7.5GW, making up 27%; followed by China, the United States, and France, among others. However, the European region remains the primary market for PV, accounting for 75% of the new installations.
"Although the UK is not one of the main countries for new installations, its business development in 2011 was astonishing," Mr. Liang pointed out. The UK's installed capacity last year was 700MW, but it was only 50MW in 2010, making the country's year-over-year growth in PV installations the fastest among the top ten countries.
Actually, the UK was supposed to implement a subsidy cut plan in April last year, reducing the rate from £0.43 per kilowatt-hour to £0.21. But as of this year, no action has been taken. The reason is that government figures, including those from the UK High Court and the House of Commons, believe that a large-scale reduction in subsidies would deal a fatal blow to a market that has just begun to take off.
Although the UK does not face the same level of fiscal deficits as some other European countries like Greece, which need urgent resolution, another major challenge for the country lies in how to prevent the addition of new alliances among its 2.5 million unemployed people and find more job opportunities for existing unemployed individuals. However, achieving this goal seems difficult in the solar energy sector at present.