The times in the solar industry are very exciting and pretty difficult at the same time: with 413GW annual installations worldwide, the latest edition of BloombergNEF´s 4Q 2023 Global PV Market Outlook points out that solar installations more than doubled in only 2 years. At the same time, with record-low prices for modules, being a manufacturer is becoming increasingly difficult, even though the demand for solar is hug and constantly growing. At COP28, state leaders agreed on tripling the share of renewable energies by 2030. At the same time, solar faces structural difficulties such as grid constraints, labor shortages, price cannibalization, looming trade wars and government regulations that don’t keep pace with the industry´s needs in order to accelerate solar deployment.

About those astonishing and at the same time controverse developments, we spoke to Jenny Chase.

Timeline:

• 2:14 We saw at the latest numbers which BloombergNEF published that solar installations have more than doubled in the last two years. Will this skyrocketing development to go on like this until the end of this decade, or even forever?
• 06:56 Global module prices: Following the latest trends, we now reached a new all-time low of 12,4 ct/W for solar modules. How are those prices going to effect both the global manufacturing landscape and the deployment of solar worldwide?
• 09:29 According to your numbers, in the US, modules are more expensive, at a cost of 25 ct/W. Why do we have a different situation there?
• 15:28 Price cannibalization: To what extent can batteries, electrolysers and flexibility solve this problem?

About The smarter E Podcast

The smarter E podcast is all about the current trends and developments in a renewable, decentralized and digital energy industry. Our moderators Tobias Bücklein and Zackes Brustik welcome and interview personalities who shape our industry and drive developments forward. A new episode is published every Thursday.

Click on the logo to listen to the podcast on the platform of your choice.

About Jenny Chase and Bloomberg NEF

Jenny Chase is an analyst with BloombergNEF's global Solar Insight Service. She joined BNEF mid-2005 and launched the Solar Insight Service in early 2006, and ran the team from Bloomberg's Zurich office until late 2022. She then stepped down from management and continues to write about and analyze the solar industry as part of the team. Jenny is the author of a book, Solar Power Finance Without the Jargon, published by World Scientific Publishing in 2019. She holds a BA in Physical Sciences and an MSci in Physics from the University of Cambridge, England, and breeds award-winning West of England geese. She is on Twitter as @solar_chase and Mastodon as @solar_chase@mastodon.green.

BloombergNEF (BNEF), Bloomberg's primary research service, covers clean energy, advanced transport, digital industry, innovative materials and commodities. The Company helps corporate strategy, finance and policy professionals navigate, change, and generate opportunities.

Content Partner