The solar PV market has been booming over the last years and is forecasted to confirm this trend in the coming years. By the end of 2007 the global cumulative capacity exceeded 9 GWp.

The harnessing of solar energy is not new in fact, development of solar energy dates back more than 100 years, to the middle of the industrial revolution. Solar energy is pollution-free, an important benefit when the cost of removing pollutants from the environment is considered.

For example, a typical SWH system will, over its lifetime, displace 10.5 tons of CO2 if replacing a natural gas system, or 71.5 tons if replacing an electric system.

The solar thermal industry is capable of becoming a dynamic, innovative annual business within 20 years, unlocking a new global era of economic, technological and environmental progress.

The benefits of solar power are compelling: environmental protection, economic growth, job creation, diversity of fuel supply and rapid deployment, as well as the global potential for technology transfer and innovation.

The underlying advantage of solar energy is that the fuel is free, abundant and inexhaustible. The total amount of energy irradiated from the sun to the earth's surface is enough to provide for annual global energy consumption 10,000 times over.

This vast report starts with the basics of photovoltaics and solar energy, the various uses of solar power, and then moves on to analyze the Photovoltaic Market around the world.

The report looks at the silicon market, the polysilicon market, the very attractive and emerging field of silicon recycling, thin film technology statistics, and much more.

The report covers 41 major players in the industry, and also undertakes a PEST Framework Analysis of the Global Solar PV Industry. Technologies associated with solar power, implementation and applications of PV Systems, an analysis of the PV Industry Value Chain, and a lot more statistical and theoretical data is included in this report.