According to the report “Global Energy Transition: A Roadmap to 2050”, the accelerated deployment of solar PV alone could significantly reduce emissions of 49 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) in 2050. This value represents 21% of the total reduction potential. By 2050, solar PV is expected to become the second largest source of electricity generation after wind power, leading the transformation of the global power industry.
In terms of regions, countries in Asia will still dominate the solar PV market in the future, followed by the United States and Europe. In addition, emerging markets will continue to emerge, and countries along the “Belt and Road” will become popular. The countries in South America, the Middle East, and other regions will likely become the main source of future market growth. At present, PV has become one of the most competitive products in countries such as Australia, Chile, Egypt, France, South Africa, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates.
Over the past few decades, solar PV has seen significant improvements in terms of efficiency and power generation. In 2018, the efficiency of polycrystalline PV reached 17%, and monocrystalline PV reached 18%. This growth trend is expected to continue until 2030. There are multiple indications that the energy transition can bring huge socio-economic benefits. By 2050, the solar industry will employ more than 18 million people (14 million of whom will be employed in solar PV), four times more than the 4.4 million jobs in 2018 (3.6 million in solar PV).
As times have evolved and progressed, globalization has brought everyone closer together. Global climate change, the new crown epidemic, and environmental pollution will all affect our lives. With April 22 being designated as Earth Day, The “Paris Agreement” on climate has also been signed for the 5th anniversary. On September 22, 2020, China officially proposed the goal of achieving peak carbon by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060 at the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Double carbon is the two-stage goal of the carbon reduction target proposed by China, referred to as the “double carbon” strategic goal. Although the solar PV industry is developing rapidly, there are still some problems and challenges.
First of all, the solar PV industry needs to face the changing policy environment. The policy environment has an important impact on the development of the solar PV industry. Policy support from some countries has played a positive role. However, policy uncertainty and changes may have some impact on the industry.
Secondly, the solar photovoltaic industry also needs to face technical bottlenecks. Although solar photovoltaic technology continues to innovate, there are still some technical bottlenecks, such as the conversion efficiency and lifetime of solar cells and other issues.
Finally, the solar PV industry needs to address sustainability issues. Although solar photovoltaic power generation is a kind of green and clean energy source, it still needs to consume specific energy and resources in the production process. Therefore, the solar photovoltaic industry needs to make more efforts in sustainability, such as promoting a circular economy and reducing resource consumption.
As a green, clean, and renewable energy, the solar photovoltaic industry will play an increasingly important role in the future energy system. Although there are some problems and challenges in the solar photovoltaic industry, they will be gradually solved with the continuous progress of technology and policy support. Therefore, the solar photovoltaic industry has extensive development prospects and is an industry that is well worthy of attention and investment.