Opportunities from the development of general conditions

Further rise in energy demand. The steady increase in the demand for energy is one of the megatrends that will codetermine the development of the global economy over the short, medium and long term. This trend is influenced and reinforced by global population growth and the steadily rising demand of developing countries and emerging economies for a share in wealth and social well-being.

According to the reference scenario of the World Energy Outlook 2009 of the International Energy Agency (IEA), global demand for power will rise by 66 per cent to 28,930 TWh over the next 20 years. Non-OECD countries will account for over 80 per cent of this growth.

Renewable energies gain importance. A crucial concern for the future will not only be to cover the demand for energy – it will also have to be climate-friendly. Renewable energies, including solar energy, are increasingly moving to the fore in this regard. Climate change poses one of the key challenges of the 21st century. Its adverse impact will not only have ecological but also economic effects and place a major strain on the global economy in future. That is why demand for low-carbon technologies is increasing, driven on the one hand by national and international political promotion measures and on the other also by rising public awareness of the repercussions of climate change. More than 40 per cent of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions are currently caused by the electricity sector. Power production is thus the main cause of greenhouse gas emissions, even ahead of transportation (23 per cent) and industry (17 per cent). Accordingly, it entails the largest savings potential. According to the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) solar power will make a major contribution to this.  CO₂ savings through solar power until 2030

According to the EPIA forecast, it will be possible to produce more than 1,291 TWh of electricity worldwide from solar energy in 2030.  (Graphic: Average annual growth rates of different sources of energy for power generation by 2030) By way of comparison, the current electricity requirement in the entire European Union is approximately 1,700 TWh. The average annual growth rate for solar power will be 21.2 per cent by 2030, according to the IEA reference scenario. Solar power is thus the fastest growing source of energy.

The trend towards renewable energies is also driven by the growing scarcity of fossil fuels and the resulting price increases for conventionally produced power. At the same time, the price of solar power products will continue to fall due to advancing technological optimization, lower cost of materials, economies of scale and learning curve effects. Experts presume that grid parity will be achieved in almost all solar core markets within the next five years. As a result, solar energy will develop into an economic alternative to conventional sources of energy not requiring promotion.

As a fully integrated solar technology supplier, SolarWorld AG consistently uses opportunities arising in the solar energy growth market. The worldwide rise in demand for solar power products is expected to benefit our revenues and earnings in numerous markets. Estimated development of revenue and result

Off-grid technology taps new markets. Our sound position in the off-grid applications segment also offers us many opportunities in this future market. According to estimates by IEA Weltkarte around 1.5 billion people worldwide do not have access to electricity. Solar power technology offers even off-grid regions an uncomplicated and low-maintenance solution for decentralized power production – without requiring the cost- and time-intensive establishment of a grid. EPIA presumes that up to 3 billion people will use this type of power supply by 2030.  Solarstromnutzer weltweit 2030 (Grafik: Solarstromnutzer weltweit 2030) SolarWorld AG not only produces the appropriate technology for these applications, we also have many years of experience with projects in this field and have a presence in the largest off-grid markets with our sales branches in Asia, Africa, and America. We have thus secured a major competitive edge in these hitherto underdeveloped regions, which represent important regions for the future.