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Wood Mackenzie predicts that the global floating solar market will be dominated by the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region and led by India, China and Indonesia through 2033. The consultancy says growth will be driven by rising demand, declining capital expenditure and supportive policies. The global floating solar market will reach 77 GW of installed capacity by 2033, according to an analysis by Wood Mackenzie. The consultancy’s “ Floating Solar Landscape 2024 ” report projects that the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region will be home to nine of the top ten global floating solar markets, which together will account for 57 GW of floating solar capacity by 2033. According to Wood Mackenzie, India, China and Indonesia will be the three largest markets, with 31 GW installed by 2033. Harshul Kanwar, a research analyst at Wood Mackenzie, says that around 1.7 GW of floating solar capacity is expected to come online this year, of which 90% will be in the APAC region. Kanwar added that the growth of floating solar systems will be driven by rising demand, reduced capital expenditure and policies supporting low-carbon energy. Kanwar noted that while capital expenditures for floating solar systems are approximately $0.13-$0.15/W higher than for ground-mounted PV systems, the recent drop in prices for passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC) and passivated oxide tunnel contact (TOPCon) modules to below $0.10/W has significantly reduced the overall costs of floating solar installations. Germany, France and the Netherlands are forecast to be Europe’s three largest markets, with installations of 2.2 GW, 1.2 GW and 1 GW by 2033, respectively. Wood Mackenzie says floating solar growth in Europe remains constrained due to coverage and distance limits. Meanwhile, the United States is on track to install 0.7 GW of floating solar by 2033. According to Wood Mackenzie, the market remains small in this country due to limited land availability and high investment costs. Wood Mackenzie says floating solar-hydro hybrid projects are gaining popularity, with peak installed capacity of these projects expected to occur between 2026 and 2028 due to longer time-to-market. Last week, CHN Energy completed connecting the first phase of a 1 GW offshore solar project in eastern China, which will be the world’s largest offshore solar array upon completion . The world’s largest floating offshore installation is currently a 440 MW project off the coast of Taiwan. |
