The annual expansion of photovoltaics throughout the world surpassed the 100 GW mark last year. The multi-terawatt market is looming on the horizon and PV is becoming a “game changer” in the global energy system in five specific areas, according to a consortium of research institutes.

Cost reductions and the expansion of production capacity throughout the world has been opening up completely new possibilities for PV in recent years. They make the technology “a game changer of the global energy system”, as scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have argued. But development is creating more opportunities while also increasing the number of challenges the industry faces, according to a recent paper in the journal Science by the Global Alliance for Solar Energy Research Institute (GA-SERI).

The growth of the PV industry to a multi-terawatt market is proceeding faster than expected, according to industry experts. At the end of last year, 500 GW of solar had already been installed worldwide. By 2030, researchers expect 10 TW globally and 30 to 70 TW by 2050, according to PV Magazine.

“The cost of PV modules has dropped by two orders of magnitude over the last 40 years and by the end of 2018, it was below $0.25 per watt*,” said Andreas Bett, head of Fraunhofer ISE. With these costs, solar power is “absolutely competitive” in many parts of the world. At the same time, changes in the generation and transmission system will occur due to the increasing share of PV in the electricity mix.