News & Analysis

In most of this region’s countries, photovoltaic energy in 80’s and 90’s was limited only to very small rooftop on-grid and off-grid installations. Due to the high photovoltaic technology equipment costs, these installations by late 90’s have been with a capacity between 1 KWp and 30 KWp. However, this situation started to change in 2000 for 2 main reasons. The first reason is that governments in the CEE and SEE countries introduced some measures to support alternative energy producers to meet targets set by the EU for higher renewables usage. National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAP’s) have been developed for each of EU member countries setting mandatory targets with Directive 2009/28/EC for renewable energy usage as a share of final energy consumption by 2020. The second reason is falling photovoltaic (solar PV) module and inverter prices since 2009, which led turn-key installation cost for PV systems from 4.3 EUR/Wp in 2008 to approximately 1.5 EUR/Wp in 2013. Consequences of the continued financial crisis in the EU zone are pressing policy-makers to cut costs, which could negatively affect the photovoltaic sector, which is dependent on government incentives and stable regulatory framework and laws according to CEE & SEE Countries Photovoltaic (Solar PV) Market Outlook 2013 – 2018

The maturing photovoltaic markets in Germany, Spain, France, Italy and subsidy cuts allowed investors to look for new opportunities in Central-Eastern (CEE) and South-Eastern European (SEE) nations after 2009.

Our forecast for photovoltaic (solar PV) sector in CEE and SEE countries is positive. Best developed markets are Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Greece and Ukraine. However, subsidy cuts reduced development in some of these countries. On the other side, rising electricity prices for industry and households leave room for rooftop PV systems market for own consumption and surplus generation.

Next wave markets with short and medium-term potential for development in 2013/2014 are Romania, Turkey, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Ukraine. We expect market drivers by the end of 2013 to be projects with capacity mainly in the range between 1 MWp to 50 MWp. More information about these promising markets you may read here: CEE & SEE Countries Photovoltaic (Solar PV) Market Outlook 2013 – 2018