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Healthy markets in the US and Asia are offsetting troubles in Europe, according to Navigant.
The firm said buoyant markets in the US and Asia could offset the troubles in Europe with new emerging markets in Saudi Arabia and South America also presenting new opportunities for growth.
“Financial incentives, government renewable energy deployment targets and technology cost reduction are still the most important drivers of the solar PV market,” said Dexter Gauntlett, research analyst with Navigant Research.
“In most cases, these renewable energy deployment and cost reduction targets will be met or exceeded, with 438GW of solar PV installed cumulatively between 2013 and 2020.
“By the end of 2020, solar PV is expected to be cost-competitive with retail electricity prices, without subsidies, in a significant portion of the world,” added Gauntlett.
The report cites how the growing number of utility-scale solar PV plants coming online and falling project costs are accelerating the path to grid parity in markets with high retail electricity prices.
Navigant suggests 2017 could prove to be a defining year for the industry. The reduction in the US investment tax credits to 10% and policy shifts in a number of other major markets could make it the year that the sector weans itself of subsidies in mature markets, the report claims.
Earlier this week SolarBuzz reported that the US was set to top 10GW of installed capacity.
Germany broke a solar production record on 7 July with output peaking at 23.9GW, according to SMA Solar.
