Nov 10

REC’s Q3 Solar Market Insight Report: Best third quarter ever in EMEA, full order books, stronger demand expected to meet climate targets

REC Group, the leading European brand for photovoltaic (PV) panels, today released its Q3 Solar Market Insight report. It provides recent regional and global performance highlights of the company and an overview for key solar markets.

REC Group Q3 major highlights

  • Diversified global reach and enlarged REC customer base by 66% in 2017 YTD
  • REC’s quarterly shipments grew by 19% year-over-year
  • REC EMEA accounted for the largest share and achieved its best third quarter ever
  • Europe entering into a new PV growth phase with a potential of 175,000 jobs in the industry by 2021
  • COP23: Ambitious climate targets require a significant stronger PV demand

Strong global and regional performance due to on-going demand for REC panels

Globally, Q3 has seen an increase of REC shipments by 19% year over year with a total of 329 MW and representing 9% growth compared to the previous quarter. Across all market segments, REC Group enjoys continuous strong demand for its award-winning high efficiency products. The company is actively diversifying its geographical reach as well as enlarging its customer base leading to 66% more customers in Q1-Q3 2017 compared to the same period in 2016.

The EMEA region accounted for the largest share of REC Group shipments across all regions in Q3 with 46%, leading to its best third quarter result ever. Quarter over quarter the region also experienced a strong performance with 23% growth. Germany saw the largest share of shipments making it again the top market in the region. Furthermore, REC Group has made a hugely successful entrance into the Turkish market, contributing to the extraordinary result.

APAC had a solid quarter with India being the top market due to a strong brand recognition for REC Group across all market segments despite the tough pricing environment. Australia also made a large contribution to the Q3 result in the region by serving successfully the distribution segment with long-standing partnerships. Japan saw a continuous solid demand from partner distributors in the Commercial & Industrial (C&I) as well as residential segment.

Thanks to its growing and diversified customer base, REC USA continues its upward trend in shipments with 25% growth over Q2 2017. This performance is influenced by the fact, that REC is one of the top suppliers in each of the five largest residential solar PV markets in the US.

Market spotlight: REC Group expects Europe to return to growth

By continuously transitioning from pure government-based support schemes to market based instruments like auctions and tenders, REC Group expects Europe will return to PV growth in the years ahead. The main factors driving demand are auctions for large-scale PV and new business models via residential and commercial self-consumption. Established (i.e. Germany, France, Netherlands) and new PV markets (i.e. Turkey, Hungary, Ireland) continue to drive the market growth.

The latest job study by Solar Power Europe, supported by REC Group, states that the EU could see 175,000 jobs in PV in 2021, a 115% increase compared to 2016. This could be a positive consequence of the new PV growth phase in Europe, mainly driven by the rooftop segment. Significantly more ambitious targets for renewable energies, which according to REC analysis are essential to reach the climate targets of the Paris Agreement, would lead to an even higher employment growth.

REC’s global short and mid-term outlook

For Q4, REC Group expects sequential volume growth of 12 to 18%. Due to strong demand in all regions the company is nearly fully booked for Q4 2017. This trend will continue into the new year, as the order books for Q1 2018 are already filling up. REC Group will maintain the investment in its technology leadership and its competitive pricing model to make solar PV even more cost-efficient and a key pillar in mitigating climate change.

In its climate change study “Closing the COP21 Gap by Going Solar”, REC highlights that by 2025 up to 4.8 TW of PV capacity will be needed on top of estimations before COP21 to meet the climate goals. This capacity ramp-up is required to abate enough CO2 emissions to meet the 1.5°C temperature increase target of COP21. In the light of this week beginning COP23 Steve O’Neil, CEO of REC Group, comments: “PV is a mature, affordable and quickly deployable technology, so it must be seen as a key pillar in response to the climate target of the Paris Agreement. Our analysis shows that its adoption is far from sufficient. There is a shortfall between renewable energy commitments and required emission reductions.”

For further information please contact:
Agnieszka Schulze
Head of Global PR, REC Group
Leopoldstraße 175
80804 Munich, Germany
Tel.: +49 89 54 04 67 225
E-mail: agnieszka.schulze@recgroup.com

About REC Group:
Founded in Norway in 1996, REC Group is a leading vertically integrated solar energy company. Through integrated manufacturing from silicon to wafers, cells, high-quality panels and extending to solar solutions, REC Group provides the world with a reliable source of clean energy. REC’s renowned product quality is supported by the lowest warranty claims rate in the industry. REC Group is a Bluestar Elkem company with headquarters in Norway and operational headquarters in Singapore. REC Group employs more than 2,000 people worldwide, producing 1.4 GW of solar panels annually. Find out more at www.recgroup.com