What factors affect the development of the solar PV market?

Economic and non-economic factors affecting the development of the solar PV market and the evolution of prices are relatively complex. Over the past two decades, the global market has experienced a substantial decline in solar PV module prices.

Are solar PV prices going down?

Nonetheless, rapid price declines in solar PV have not been without controversy. China, for example, has played an outsized role in scaling up the mass production of solar PV cells and modules, comprising 78% of global production in 2021 9, 10 (Fig. 1).

Are photovoltaics cheaper than conventional electricity?

The price of photovoltaics (PV) has been steadily decreasing over the last decade, and many reports suggest that PV has become considerably cheaper than conventional electricity sources. In this paper, we critically evaluate the PV grid parity and use China as a case study.

Does a 1% increase in imports affect solar PV module prices?

However, the coefficient in absolute value is lower than unity, meaning that the model satisfies the stability condition. The empirical analysis reveals that a 1% increase in imports of solar PV cells and modules is associated with a 0.1% decline in solar PV module prices on average, all other things being equal.

Do crude oil import prices affect solar PV module prices?

Finally, crude oil import price increases have a positive influence on solar PV module prices. This finding could be explained on the grounds that higher imported oil prices can lead to an increase in demand for solar PV panels through the substitution effect.

How do we estimate learning rates for solar PV modules?

Using nation-specific, component-level price data and global PV installation and silicon price data, we estimate learning rates for solar PV modules in the three largest solar-deploying countries (China, Germany and the United States) between 2006 and 2020 using a two-factor learning model.