Market for Solar Home Systems (SHS)

Overview

In 2000, about 1.3 million households in developing countries used solar home systems (SHSs).
The most mature off-grid PV markets exist in India (650,000 installed SHSs), Bangladesh (550,000 SHSs), Indonesia (250,000 SHSs) China (150,000 SHSs), Kenya (120,000 - 250,000 SHSs), Morocco (80,000 SHSs), Mexico (80,000 SHSs), Nepal (69,411 SHSs), South Africa (50,000 SHSs), and Sri Lanka (21,000 SHSs). Kenya and China are by far the fastest growing markets, with annual growth rates of 10% – 20% in recent years.

Many of these countries also manufacture components for SHS, such as batteries, controllers, and lights. In 2002, PV module manufacturers existed in India (23 firms), China (7 firms), Thailand (3 firms), and Namibia (1 firm). PV cells are manufactured in India (9 firms) and China (7 firms). In recent years, the manufacturing base in China has grown exponentially. Gabler (2008) and Photon (2008) estimate for 2007 that newly installed off-grid PV capacity in Developing Countries lies at around 50 MWp per year (compared to 150 MWp global annual market volume for off-grid PV – including off-grid PV for recreational uses and industry, such as telecom repeaters, worldwide).

At system prices of about 10 €/Watt, total turnover in Developing Countries can be estimated to account for 0.5 € billion.

Further Information

• Market for Solar Home Systems in East Africa