Wood Mackenzie, an international energy research agency reported that solar photovoltaic (PV) installations for 2020, would sit at 4.9 GW, the lowest level since 2016. This represents a 42 per cent fall in installed solar capacity over 2019. This fall in installations is linked to the ongoing pandemic and the research agency expects a slow rate of installation of solar PV systems for the rest of the year. The agency reported that most countries have ended severe lockdowns and have resumed construction of planned solar capacity. However, India is still witnessing a rise in cases as well as challenges with social distancing. It was also reported that India’s 100 GW solar target by 2022 would be unlikely to be met without policy enforcement.
The company has projected a 5 per cent rise in global year on yearsolar demand in 2020. This would represent a new installed capacity of 115 GW in the year. It was also projected that additional installed solar PV capacity would grow to reach 145 GW. China is expected to be the world leader in solar PV installations for the year with an added capacity of 39 GW, 27 GW of which came in the second half of the year. Despite supply-chain disruptions, the Chinese market is expected to grow by 30 per cent year on year. The US market has remained largely unchanged due to the pandemic and has overcome delays using virtual sales and permitting platforms.