High-concentrating PV market to hit $1.6 bn in 2017

28 Jun 2012

HCPV will register a 31% compound annual growth rate to reach an installed capacity of 700 MW, says Lux Research.

High-concentrating photovoltaics (HCPV), a decades-old technology to tap more of the sun’s energy than other solar methods, is poised to finally hit its stride, with a 31% compound annual growth rate until 2017, according to a Lux Research report.

Driven by emerging markets with high solar resources, the market for HCPV will grow to 697 MW in 2017, creating a system market worth $1.6 billion and a module market worth $700 million, reaching a system price of $2.33/W.

”To date HCPV has had very little success installing commercial systems,” said Ed Cahill, Lux Research Associate and the lead author of the report titled, Putting High-Concentrating Photovoltaics into Focus.

He added, “However, as markets shift due to subsidy cuts from distributed installations in low-DNI [direct normal irradiance] environments such as Germany, to large installations in high-DNI environments such as India, we expect HCPV to grow at a faster rate than competing technologies.”

Lux Research analysts evaluated the emerging solar landscape and the prospects for HCPV, which uses optics such as lenses to concentrate a large amount of sunlight onto a small area of ultra-high-efficiency photovoltaic cells.

Key findings:

(1) HCPV costs are coming down HCPV systems will turn cost competitive with single-axis-tracked mc-Si (multi-crystalline silicon) in 2017, closing a 33% and 20% gap with fixed and tracked mc-Si systems, respectively. It also will gain cost parity with mc-Si for high-DNI, utility-scale projects in 2018. The cuts will come through lower shipping and labor costs, besides economies of scale.

(2) Funding is key to success Well-funded companies that expand intelligently will drive the HCPV market. HCPV pioneer Amonix expanded too soon and too fast and has had to cut back; it still struggles, and leaves the door open for emerging players like Soitec, SunCore, and SolFocus.

(3) Developers are racing to build most efficient solar cell With Solar Junction’s record-breaking 43.5% efficient cell and Spectrolab and Emcore scrambling to develop inverted metamorphic cells, the race to manufacture the most efficient solar cell is heating up. A steady roadmap to 45% efficiency in five years and 50% efficiency in 10 years is feasible.

The report, entitled Putting High-Concentrating Photovoltaics into Focus is part of the Lux Research Solar Systems Intelligence service.

About Lux Research

Lux Research provides strategic advice and ongoing intelligence for emerging technologies. Leaders in business, finance and government can use its reports to help them make informed strategic decisions. Visit www.luxresearchinc.com for more information. Or call Carole Jacques, Lux Research, Inc. +1 617-502-5314

About the Author

Matthew Peach is a contributing editor to optics.org