June 14, 2023

Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity. Two technologies currently dominate global solar PV markets and supply chains: crystalline silicon (c-Si) modules account for over 95% while cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film PV technology makes up the remaining 5%. Polysilicon is a key material for c-Si technology and currently the bottleneck for the industry.

Main steps in the process of making solar panels:

Solar Panel Supply Chain by Region

China dominates every stage of the solar panel industry accounting for almost 80% of all Polysilicon manufacturing and 75% of solar photovoltaic modules. India ranks second with just 3% of solar module manufacturing and 1% of cell manufacturing although their PV module manufacturing capacity has more than doubled from 18 GW in 2022 to 38 GW in 2023. When comparing manufacturing capacity to demand, there is a clear imbalance on a country-by-country basis. China has considerably more capacity than it requires while the reverse is true for most other countries.

References:
IEA (2022, July), Special Report on Solar PV Global Supply Chain. https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/d2ee601d-6b1a-4cd2-a0e8-db02dc64332c/SpecialReportonSolarPVGlobalSupplyChains.pdf
Conte N. (2022, August, 30), Visualizing China’s Dominance in the Solar Panel Supply Chain. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-chinas-dominance-in-the-solar-panel-supply-chain/
Fernández L. (2023, February, 8), Global PV module manufacturing share 2021 by country. https://www.statista.com/statistics/668749/regional-distribution-of-solar-pv-module-manufacturing/