IMS Research reports expansion in the Asian market for photovoltaic semiconductors, with accelerations in manufacturing anticipated in the months to come.
This, the analyst expects, will lead to a steady growth rate throughout 2011, following the final quarter of its 2010 reporting year which saw 70 per cent of worldwide capacity manufactured in Asia.
Sam Wilkinson, photovoltaic research analyst, comments: "Large Chinese manufacturers are currently leading the industry in crystalline photovoltaic module cost reduction and other Western suppliers are joining them by moving their own production to Asia."
This could help to drive the costs of the technology down and create an industry which is less reliant on government subsidy, the researcher adds.
However, the European market is still showing signs of expansion; in the first eight months of 2010, some 327 per cent more photovoltaic capacity was brought online in Germany than during the same portion of 2009.
