Photovoltaic industry (PV) refers to the industry that converts sunlight energy into electricity through solar cells. Polycrystalline silicon and monocrystalline silicon are the basic materials of crystalline silicon solar cells.

According to the analysis in early May 2008 by the World Songwang Research Institute in Washington, USA and the Prometheus Sustainable Development Research Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in early May 2008, the total production capacity of photovoltaic solar cells in the world in 2007 increased by 51% compared with the previous year. 3733MW. According to the analysis of the above two research institutes, the installed power generation of solar modules in 2007 exceeded 2935MW, and since 1996, the cumulative installed PV in the world has exceeded 9740MW, which can meet the electricity required by more than 3 million households in Europe for a year. The strong growth of the solar photovoltaic industry, driven by incentives in countries such as Germany and Spain, has also made great strides in efficiency and cost, bringing the price of solar power close to that of fossil fuels.

Breakthroughs in solar technology are expected to reduce the cost of photovoltaic energy to about 10 cents/(kW·h). Once this level is reached, there will be a large number of consumers to buy. Analysts believe it will take at least 10 years for photovoltaic energy to compete with traditional forms of energy.

It is predicted that by 2020, solar photovoltaic power generation will account for 1% of the total global power generation; by 2040, photovoltaic power generation will account for 21% of the total global power generation. With the rapid development of photoelectric technology and its application materials in the world, the cost of photoelectric materials has dropped significantly, the photoelectric conversion rate has been continuously improved, and the cost of solar power generation will be greatly reduced in the future.

The development of solar energy companies is optimistic, and the company’s stock is constantly appreciating. Take First Solar in the United States as an example. In the fourth quarter of 2007, the profit reached 62.9 million US dollars, and the share value was 77 cents per share, while the profit in the same period last year was 8 million US dollars, and the share value was 12 cents per share. At the same time, the company’s operating income nearly tripled, from $52.7 million in 2006 to $200.8 million in 2007. First Solar’s operating income has greatly improved due to four factors: increased production volume; lower unit cost per watt of products; less polysilicon use through the use of thin-film processes; and continued growth in demand for its products. First Solar’s cost of producing a solar module is $1.12/W.

Judging from the performance of manufacturers in various countries, the global share of Japanese solar cell manufacturers is declining, about 26% in June 2008; while the global share of Chinese solar cell manufacturers increased from 20% in 2006 to 2007. 35%. In addition, Solar buzz said that the production capacity of thin-film solar cells increased from 181MW in 2006 to 400MW in 2007.

In terms of amount, the global PV industry reached a revenue scale of US$17.2 billion in 2007. Judging from the solar photovoltaic markets of various countries, the German PV market in 2007 was 1328MW, accounting for 47% of the global market share; the Spanish PV market increased from 480MV to 640MW, while the US PV market increased by 57%. , reaching 220MW.

In the solar photovoltaic industry chain, a large amount of investment is concentrated on the improvement of new production capacity. Solar buzz said that in 2007, the amount of loan financing of solar photovoltaic companies increased by nearly 10 billion US dollars, making the scale of the industry continue to expand.

The average cost per watt of solar modules is expected to drop from $1.25 in 2007 to 50 cents in the next few years. Figure 1 shows the development outlook of the solar photovoltaic industry.