Overview

Strong growth in the U.S. photovoltaic (PV) industry continued in 2008. Total shipments of PV cells and modules increased more than 90 percent in 2008 (Figure 3.1 and Table 3.1) to nearly 1 million peak kilowatts. This surge in growth was partly due to the 30 percent Federal investment tax credit for commercial photovoltaic projects and the 30 percent investment tax credit, capped at $2,000 for residential photovoltaic projects, set to expire on December 31, 2008. In response, the solar industry rushed to complete projects by the end of 2008 as the deadline for the investment tax credits drew near. Finally, on October 3, 2008, the President signed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008[1] into law, which extended the solar investment tax credits for another eight years.

Figure 3.1 Photovoltaic Cell and Module Shipments, 1999-2008

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Form EIA-63B, "Annual Photovoltaic Module/Cell Manufacturers Survey." Chart data.

Industry Status

The number of active PV manufacturers and/or importers that ship PV cells and modules increased more than 43 percent, from 46 companies in 2007 to 66 companies in 2008. This is one indication that the emerging solar market has become attractive to investors desiring to start or expand businesses in this market. During 2008, PV cell and module shipments reached a record high of 986,504 peak kilowatts, a 90-percent increase from 517,684 peak kilowatts in 2007 (Figure 3.1 and Table 3.1).

The companies reporting PV shipments in 2008 also reported being involved in one or more of the following photovoltaic-related activities (Table 3.18):

• 29 companies were involved in module and/or cell manufacturing,
• 39 were designing modules or systems,
• 28 were developing prototype modules,
• 20 were developing prototype systems,
• 37 were involved in wholesale distribution,
• 16 were involved in retail distribution, and
• 28 were offering installation of their products.

Of the 66 companies active in 2008, 20 are expecting to introduce crystalline silicon products, 11 companies are planning to introduce new thin-film products, and 2 companies are expecting to provide new concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) products in 2009 (Table 3.17). This indicates that many companies believe that stronger government support in the United States will fuel new market expansion. Simultaneously, these companies are preparing to manufacture more-advanced PV technology modules as the PV industry ramps up to meet growing demand and competition.

Corresponding to the strong growth in PV shipments, employment in PV-related activities increased more than 82 percent, from 6,170 person-years in 2007 to 11,245 person-years in 2008 (Table 3.16). Of the 66 companies, 50 had 90 percent or more of their total company-wide revenues in PV-related activities, 7 had 50 to 89 percent, 4 had 10 to 49 percent, and 5 had less than 10 percent (Table 3.19).

PV cells and modules can be made from different semiconductor materials, varying in cost and performance. PV cells and modules are divided into three main categories by product type (Figure 3.2): (1) crystalline silicon, a type of photovoltaic cell/module made from a wedge of single-crystal or polycrystalline silicon, based on crystal-producing processes such as single-crystal, cast, and ribbon; (2) thin-film, photovoltaic cell/module made from layers of semiconductor material, such as amorphous silicon (a-Si), cadmium telluride (CdTe), or copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS); and (3) concentrator, a type of photovoltaic cell/module including a reflective or refractive device (such as lenses that gather and concentrate sunlight onto the photovoltaic cell).

Figure 3.2 Photovoltaic Cell and Module Shipments by Type, 2004-2008

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Form EIA-63B, "Annual Photovoltaic Module/Cell Manufacturers Survey." Chart data.

The performance of a photovoltaic cell/module can be described in terms of its energy conversion efficiency, the percentage of incident solar energy (input) that the cell converts to electricity (output) under standard rating conditions. In 2008, the average energy conversion efficiencies were as follows: crystalline silicon (single-crystal) PV cell/module, 19 percent; crystalline silicon (cast) PV cell/module, 14 percent; crystalline silicon (ribbon) PV cell/module, 13 percent; thin-film (amorphous silicon) PV cell/module, 8 percent; thin-film other (special photovoltaic material such as CdTe, and CIGS) PV cell/module, 12 percent; and concentrator PV cell/module, 34 percent (Table 3.8).

Photovoltaic Cell and Module Shipments

Photovoltaic (PV) cell and module shipments again reached a record high, 986,504 peak kilowatts in 2008. Cell shipments accounted for 65,811 peak kilowatts, while module shipments accounted for 920,693 peak kilowatts (Table 3.3). Not surprisingly, shipments have tripled in the three years since the new Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) took effect in January 2006.

Although the thin-film modules shipment market share has grown steadily for many years, crystalline silicon cells and modules continued to dominate the PV industry in 2008, accounting for 67 percent of the total shipments (Figure 3.3 and Table 3.5). The easing shortage of raw high-purity silicon contributed to a more than doubling of crystalline silicon shipments between 2007 and 2008, and led to a slight rebound in market share of crystalline silicon shipments. But crystalline silicon cell and module manufacturers still face a long-term downward trend in market share of previous years. In response to demand and competition, many crystalline silicon cell and module manufacturers have been working to minimize the use of silicon, increase efficiency, and decrease manufacturing cost. This will put the emerging thin-film manufacturers under pressure to compete given their inherently lower efficiency product line.

Figure 3.3 Crystalline Silicon Shipment and Thin-Film Shipment Market Shares, 1999-2008

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Form EIA-63B, "Annual Photovoltaic Module/Cell Manufacturers Survey." Chart data.

Shipments of single-crystal silicon totaled 359,259 peak kilowatts, an increase of more than 179 percent compared with corresponding 2007 shipments. Cast and ribbon silicon shipments totaled 306,537 peak kilowatts in 2008, nearly a 69-percent increase from the corresponding 2007 shipments. Thin-film shipments increased to 293,182 peak kilowatts in 2008, compared to 202,519 peak kilowatts in 2007. In 2008, thin-film accounted for nearly 30 percent of the market, compared to slightly more than 39 percent in 2007 (Figure 3.3 and Table 3.5).

Over the last few years, there has been increasing interest in concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) technology. Although concentrator shipments only accounted for about 3 percent of the total in 2008, the shipments of 27,527 peak kilowatts are noteworthy, representing nearly a six-fold increase when compared with corresponding 2007 shipments (Table 3.5).

Total Revenue and Average Price

Total revenue of photovoltaic cell and module shipments grew nearly 95 percent from $1.72 billion in 2007 to $3.34 billion in 2008 (Table 3.6). Revenue includes charges for cooperative advertising and warranties, but does not include excise taxes and the cost of freight or transportation.[2]

The average price for modules (dollars per peak watt) increased nearly 4 percent, from $3.37 in 2007 to $3.49 in 2008 (Figure 3.4). For cells, the average price decreased more than 12 percent, from $2.22 in 2007 to $1.94 in 2008.

Figure 3.4 Photovoltaic Cell and Module Average Prices, 2004-2008

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Form EIA-63B, "Annual Photovoltaic Module/Cell Manufacturers Survey." Chart data.

Domestic Shipments

Despite the economic downturn in the United States, PV shipments grew enormously during 2008. Domestic shipments increased to 524,252 peak kilowatts, nearly 87 percent higher than the 280,475 peak kilowatts in 2007 (Table 3.2)

Domestic shipments to the commercial sector in 2008 accounted for 253,852 peak kilowatts or more than 48 percent of the domestic market. Of the domestic shipments to the commercial sector, 86 percent were crystalline silicon, about 14 percent were thin-film PV, and less than 0.1 percent were concentrator PV (Table 3.7). The residential sector was the second-largest domestic market in 2008, accounting for 173,989 peak kilowatts or about 33 percent of the domestic market share. About 87 percent of its shipments were crystalline silicon shipments and 13 percent were thin-film PV shipments. Shipments to the industrial sector amounted to 51,493 peak kilowatts, or about 10 percent of the domestic market share. Crystalline silicon accounted for 73 percent of the industrial shipments and thin-film PV accounted for 27 percent. The electric power sector, with about 7 percent of domestic shipments, was the fourth-largest domestic sales market, totaling 35,819 peak kilowatts, similar to the 2007 level. About 24 percent were crystalline silicon, 48 percent were thin-film PV, and 28 percent of its shipments were concentrator PV.

Electricity generation, which consists of both grid-interactive (those connected to the electric power grid)[3] and remote applications (those not connected), continues to be the predominant end use for PV cells and modules. In 2008, PV cell and module shipments to the electricity generation market totaled 516,381 peak kilowatts, or more than 98 percent of domestic shipments. Domestic shipments to original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and communication end uses were the second and third-largest end uses, respectively, totaling slightly more than 1 percent. Domestic shipments to consumer goods, transportation, water pumping, and health end users held small market shares, totaling another 1 percent of domestic shipments (Table 3.7).

During 2008, PV shipments to installers, the largest customer type, totaled 231,235 peak kilowatts, 44 percent of the domestic market share. Shipments to the second-largest customer type, wholesale distributors, amounted to 125,527 peak kilowatts, or nearly 24 percent of the domestic market share (Table 3.4).

Complete Systems

A complete PV system is defined as a power supply unit that satisfies all the power requirements of an application. Such a system is made up of different components, including one or more PV modules, a power conditioning unit to process the electricity into the form needed by the application, wires, and other electrical connectors. Batteries for back-up power supply are an option. Some large-scale PV systems use concentrators to focus incident insolation onto small PV cells and tracking systems to track the sun. These large-scale systems convert sunlight directly into electricity and produce the greatest amounts of power during the afternoon, when electricity demand is high.

During 2008, the number of shipments of complete PV systems increased to 20,025 systems from the 10,600 systems in 2007. The total value of complete systems increased nearly 154 percent to $1.25 billion in 2008. The total peak kilowatts of complete systems shipped surged from 80,560 in 2007 to 202,632 in 2008 (Table 3.15). These statistics indicate companies are becoming more involved in developing larger PV systems with high demand and market growth potential.

Origin of Shipments

Imports of PV cells and modules more than doubled from a year ago to 586,558 peak kilowatts, or 68 percent of total shipments in 2008 (Table 3.11). The predominant type of import shipment was crystalline silicon cells and modules, accounting for almost 95 percent (554,992 peak kilowatts) of total imports. Japan, China, and Philippines accounted for 73 percent of total imports (Table 3.12).

In 2008, about 40 percent of PV cells and modules were manufactured in the United States; manufacturers in Ohio, Michigan, California, Massachusetts, and Maryland produced nearly 88 percent of domestically produced cells and modules (Table 3.9).

Destination of Shipments

Exports of PV cells and modules totaled 462,252 peak kilowatts in 2008, nearly a 95-percent increase from the 2007 exports of 237,209 peak kilowatts (Table 3.13). The predominant type of export shipment was crystalline silicon cells and modules, accounting for slightly more than 52 percent (240,890 peak kilowatts) of total exports. The export market accounted for nearly 47 percent of total shipments and was dominated by sales to Germany (43 percent), Spain (23 percent), and Italy (11 percent) (Table 3.14).

In 2008, a total of 524,252 peak kilowatts of domestic PV cell and module shipments went to all 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico (Table 3.10). About 81 percent of domestic PV cell and module shipments (425,005 peak kilowatts) went to five States: California, New Jersey, Florida, Colorado, and Arizona, with nearly 69 percent (359,761 peak kilowatts) of domestic shipments sent to California and New Jersey.

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