The following is a list of countries by photovoltaics exports (including exports of Photosensitive, photovoltaic and LED semiconductor devices). Data is for 2022, in billions of United States dollars, as reported by The Observatory of Economic Complexity. Currently twenty countries, as of 2022, are listed.
Fig. 3 shows that the export from China to the EU reached the summit in 2010, while after 2011, the figure plummeted. On the one hand, the reduction of subsidy in some EU countries dampened PV market demand. On the other hand, solar PV trade between China and the EU is impeded by trade barriers.
What are China's solar PV exports?
In 2021, the value of China's solar PV exports was over USD 30 billion, almost 7% of China's trade surplus over the last five years. In addition, Chinese investments in Malaysia and Viet Nam also made these countries major exporters of PV products, accounting for around 10% and 5% respectively of their trade surpluses since 2017.
Do internal and external forces affect China's solar PV export?
This study examines the impact of both internal and external forces on China's solar PV export during 2007–2016. The results show that the spatial pattern of PV exports is quite different before and after 2011, with export increasingly concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta.
East Asia, Europe, and Southeast Asia are also the top 3 exporters of solar cells and modules, accounting for more than 98% of the total exports. China, contributing more than 45% of the trade value, is the largest exporting country of solar cells and modules.
In this chapter, a detailed analysis of the rise of solar PV technology in China, Germany, Japan, and the USA is presented, along with how PV development is influenced by policies in different periods in these four countries as study cases.
Through the interaction of spatial patterns of PV cells international trade flow, the associations among regions have been strengthened and the development opportunities of PV industry have been expanded. This will also intensify the level of competition.