Photovoltaic solar panels shipments globally are expected to increase 10% year on year in 2016, according to US market research company IHS.

The main drivers of this growth will be a more stable pricing and an increasing demand from »established regional markets«. Global module shipments will reach $41.9 billion in 2016, up 4% from the previous record, which was set in 2010. Furthermore, IHS reports that global solar panels shipments will rise 29% year on year to reach 18.7 GW in the fourth quarter of this year.

According to IHS, however, the global solar market will register a considerable drop in 2017 due to the expiration of the federal investment tax credit (ITC) in the US, which is expected to lead to a fall in global demand for PV modules. IHS believes that global demand could also drop by 9% in 2017. »Even so, the predicted slowdown in global demand in 2017 -- on the back of a decline in the United States -- is likely to challenge these suppliers once again, since manufacturing capacity additions are set to dangerously outpace industry demand. Competition will intensify, which will lead to accelerating declines in prices and gross margins, for the first time since 2012.« said Edurne Zoco, senior principal analyst for IHS Technology.