US and China lead solar photovoltaic research

Solar photovoltaic energy research is led by the United States and China, indicates a UNCTAD report.

Between 1996 and 2018, there were 10,768 posts related to solar PV, most of them in India (2,943), the United States (1,906) and China (957).

The main affiliations were the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (422/India), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (127/United States) and the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai (123/India).

At the same time, 20,074 patents were registered, with the main nationalities of the assignees being China (14,515), the Republic of Korea (1,923) and the United States (1,232).

From another angle, the current three main owners were Wuxi Tianyun New Energy Technology (171/China), LG (152/Republic of Korea) and State Grid Corporation of China (152/China).

Chinese companies lead the photovoltaic solar energy market.

Commonly known companies as the top solar panel manufacturers include Jinko Solar (China), JA Solar (China), Trina Solar (China), Canadian Solar (Canada) and Hanwha Q (Republic of Korea).

Also, the most common user sectors include residential, commercial, and utilities.

Solar energy

The UNCTAD report states that the prices of photovoltaic solar panels have decreased significantly. The average start-up cost for the common-use residential photovoltaic system (6kW) dropped from $ 50,000 to $ 16,200 to $ 21,420 in 10 years.

While the solar PV job market is growing, uncertainties persist and there is little evidence of a hiring boom.

Recent industry and political turmoil over solar is likely to continue to limit job growth.

Regarding the market value of photovoltaic solar energy, in 2018 revenues were 55,000 million dollars and by 2026 they may reach 334,000 million.

According to UNCTAD, this is due to increased demand for energy, favorable government regulation and a shift towards sustainable consumption that has encouraged the use of renewable energy.