Overview
The U.S. photovoltaic (PV) industry hit a record high in 2009, shipping nearly 1.3 peak gigawatts of cells and modules (Figure 3.1 and Table 3.1). This represents a nearly 30-percent increase from 2008. Government stimulus funding and significant manufacturing cost reductions were believed to be major factors driving 2009 shipments. Although demand for solar cells/modules increased greatly, overall profit margins decreased significantly, compared with 2008.
Figure 3.1 Photovoltaic Cell and Module Shipments, 2000-2009
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA),
Form EIA-63B, "Annual Photovoltaic Module/Cell Manufacturers Survey.
figure data
Background
PV cells and modules can be made from different semiconductor materials, varying in cost and performance, and are divided into three main categories by product type (Figure 3.2):
- Crystalline silicon, which has two subtypes: (a) photovoltaic cell/module made from a wedge of a single-crystal; (b) polycrystalline silicon, based on crystal-producing processes such as cast and ribbon.
- 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).
- 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, 2005-2009
| Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Form EIA-63B, "Annual Photovoltaic Module/Cell Manufacturers Survey. |
The performance of a photovoltaic cell/module can be described in terms of its energy conversion efficiency, i.e., the percentage of incident solar energy (input) that the cell converts to electricity (output) under standard rating conditions. In 2009, the average energy conversion efficiencies were as follows (Table 3.8):
- Crystalline silicon (single-crystal) PV cell/module was 20 percent.
- Crystalline silicon (cast) PV cell/module was 14 percent.
- Crystalline silicon (ribbon) PV cell/module was 13 percent.
- Thin-film (amorphous silicon) PV cell/module was 8 percent.
- Thin-film other (special photovoltaic material such as CdTe and CIGS) PV cell/module was 12 percent.
- Concentrator PV cell/module was 38 percent.
Industry Status
With overall shipments of 1,282,560 peak kilowatts of cells and modules in 2009, the PV industry saw increases in shipments from existing companies as well as new companies entering the PV market. The number of active PV manufacturers and/or importers that ship PV cells and modules increased 53 percent, from 66 companies in 2008 to 101 companies in 2009 (Table 3.1).
Many of the companies reporting PV shipments in 2009 also reported being involved in one or more of the following photovoltaic-related activities (Table 3.18):
- 43 companies were involved in module and/or cell manufacturing.
- 49 designed modules or systems.
- 34 developed prototype modules.
- 26 developed prototype systems.
- 54 were involved in wholesale distribution.
- 23 were involved in retail distribution.
- 42 installed PV systems.
In addition, several manufacturers are planning to introduce new photovoltaic-related technical products in the next calendar year (Table 3.17):
- 22 plan to introduce new single-crystal silicon modules.
- 11 plan to introduce new cast silicon modules.
- 2 plan to introduce new ribbon silicon modules.
- 20 plan to introduce new thin-film modules.
- 3 plan to introduce new concentrator photovoltaic modules.
Corresponding to the strong growth in PV shipments, employment in PV-related activities increased more than 28 percent, from 11,245 person-years30 in 2008 to 14,443 person-years in 2009 (Table 3.16). Of the 101 companies, 70 had 90 percent or more of their total company-wide revenues in PV-related activities, 10 had 50 to 89 percent, 8 had 10 to 49 percent, and 13 had less than 10 percent (Table 3.19).
Photovoltaic Cell and Module Shipments
Photovoltaic (PV) cell and module shipments increased for the sixth-consecutive year, reaching a record of 1,282,560 peak kilowatts in 2009. Cell shipments accounted for 93,681 peak kilowatts, while module shipments accounted for 1,188,879 peak kilowatts (Table 3.3).
Crystalline silicon cells and modules continued to dominate the PV industry in 2009, accounting for 77 percent of the total shipments (Figure 3.3 and Table 3.5). From 2000 to 2007, thin-film cells/modules (which do not rely on silicon and are less expensive to manufacture than the crystalline silicon cells/modules) took market share away from the established crystalline silicon cells/modules. Since 2007, crystalline silicon cells/modules have re-gained some of the lost market share from its chief rival, thin-film cells/modules.
Figure 3.3 Crystalline Silicon Shipment and Thin-Film Shipment Market Shares, 2000-2009
| Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Form EIA-63B, "Annual Photovoltaic Module/Cell Manufacturers Survey. |
Shipments of single-crystal silicon totaled 580,629 peak kilowatts, an increase of nearly 62 percent compared with corresponding 2008 shipments. Cast and ribbon silicon shipments totaled 403,531 peak kilowatts in 2009, nearly a 32-percent increase from the corresponding 2008 shipments. Thin-film shipments decreased to 266,547 peak kilowatts in 2009, compared to 293,182 peak kilowatts in 2008. In 2009, thin-film shipments accounted for nearly 21 percent of the market, compared to slightly more than 39 percent in 2007. Shipments of concentrators accounted for less than 2 percent of the total in 2009 (Figure 3.3 and Table 3.5).
Total Revenue and Average Price
Total revenue of photovoltaic cell and module shipments grew nearly 3 percent from $3.34 billion in 2008 to $3.43 billion in 2009 (Table 3.6). Revenue includes charges for cooperative advertising and warranties, but does not include excise taxes and the cost of freight or transportation.
The average price for modules (dollars per peak watt) decreased 20 percent, from $3.49 in 2008 to $2.79 in 2009. For cells, the average price decreased more than 34 percent, from $1.94 in 2008 to $1.27 in 2009 (Figure 3.4 and Table 3.6).
Figure 3.4 Photovoltaic Cell and Module Average Prices, 2005-2009
| Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Form EIA-63B, "Annual Photovoltaic Module/Cell Manufacturers Survey. |
Domestic Shipments
During 2009, shipments of solar cells and modules to domestic customers increased to 601,133 peak kilowatts, nearly 15 percent higher than the 524,252 peak kilowatts in 2008 (Table 3.2). The shipments went to all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands (Table 3.10). Nearly 75 percent of domestic PV cell and module shipments (449,438 peak kilowatts) went to five States (in order of decreasing volume): California, New Jersey, Florida, Arizona, and New York, with more than 55 percent (332,204 peak kilowatts) of domestic shipments going to California and New Jersey.
Domestic shipments to the commercial sector in 2009 accounted for 282,273 peak kilowatts, or nearly 47 percent of the domestic market. Of the domestic shipments to the commercial sector, nearly 86 percent were crystalline silicon, about 11 percent were thin-film PV, and more than 3 percent were concentrator PV (Table 3.7).
The residential sector was the second-largest domestic market in 2009, accounting for 221,245 peak kilowatts, or nearly 37 percent of the domestic market share. About 88 percent of its shipments were crystalline silicon shipments and about 12 percent were thin-film PV shipments.
Shipments to the electric power sector amounted to 53,636 peak kilowatts, or nearly 9 percent of the domestic market share. Crystalline silicon accounted for nearly 57 percent of the electric power shipments, thin-film PV accounted for nearly 43 percent, and concentrator PV accounted for 0.5 percent.
The industrial sector, with more than 7 percent of domestic shipments, was the smallest domestic sales market, totaling 43,445 peak kilowatts. Nearly 83 percent were crystalline silicon, and more than 17 percent were thin-film PV.
Electricity generation, which consists of both grid-connected (those connected to the electric power grid) and remote or dispersed applications (those not connected), continues to be the predominant end use for PV cells and modules. In 2009, PV cell and module shipments to the electricity generation market totaled 593,308 peak kilowatts, or nearly 99 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 nearly 0.9 percent. Domestic shipments to consumer goods, transportation, water pumping, and health end users held small market shares, totaling nearly 0.4 percent of domestic shipments (Table 3.7).
During 2009, PV shipments to installers, the largest customer type, totaled 214,799 peak kilowatts, nearly 36 percent of the domestic market share. Shipments to the second-largest customer type, wholesale distributors, amounted to 140,530 peak kilowatts, or more than 23 percent of the domestic market share (Table 3.4).
Export Shipments
Exports of PV cells and modules totaled 681,427 peak kilowatts in 2009, a more than 47-percent increase from the 2008 exports of 462,252 peak kilowatts (Table 3.13). Exports exceeded domestic shipments in 2009, accounting for about 53 percent of total shipments. In contrast, 2008 exports were approximately 47 percent of total shipments (Table 3.10). The predominant type of export shipment was crystalline silicon cells and modules, accounting for nearly 71 percent (480,423 peak kilowatts) of total exports. The export market was dominated by sales to France, Germany, and Italy (Table 3.14).
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 typically produce the greatest amounts of power during the afternoon, when electricity demand is high.
During 2009, the number of shipments of complete PV systems decreased to 9,233 systems from the 20,025 systems in 2008. The total value of complete systems decreased 8 percent to $1.15 billion in 2009. The total peak kilowatts of complete systems shipped increased from 202,632 in 2008 to 228,017 in 2009 (Table 3.15).
Origin of Shipments
Imports of PV cells and modules shipments increased nearly 27 percent from 2008, to 743,414 peak kilowatts in 2009 (Table 3.11). Imports in 2009 accounted for over half of total shipments. The predominant type of import shipment was crystalline silicon cells and modules, accounting for more than 95 percent (708,246 peak kilowatts) of total imports. China, Mexico, and Philippines accounted for 78 percent of total imports (Table 3.12).
In 2009, about 42 percent of PV cells and modules were manufactured in the United States; manufacturers in California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Ohio produced nearly 87 percent of domestically produced cells and modules (Table 3.9).
| Endnotes: 30 Person-year: One whole year, or fraction thereof, worked by an employee, including contracted manpower. |
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