Yingli to focus on emerging markets

Miao believes that although the European market accounted for more than half of the global market, PV deployment will be concentrated mainly on just two countries - China and Japan - this year.

"In my opinion, these two countries will account for more than half of the global PV demand this year, while the European region may see a considerable decline."

NPD Solarbuzz also says that the European market will account for a global market share of less than 30 percent by the end of this year.

Companies such as Yingli have already started making the necessary transitions, Miao says. "China will reach at least 7 gW PV installation this year. I expect that our domestic and emerging markets will account for 40 percent of our total sales this year".

In May, Yingli won the bid to supply 220 mW PV modules for China Power Investment Corp. The modules are expected to be used for five PV power plants in Hebei and Qinghai provinces. Given the economic crisis and the fall in the European solar market, many export-driven Chinese PV manufacturers of solar cells and modules are facing great challenges, experts say.

Many small PV companies have gone bankrupt or ceased operations, while some big companies are also in trouble. Miao says that in such a scenario it is important for big players to cash in on the market opportunities.

The State Council recently released several guidelines to provide some relief for the battered industry. These were based on six principles for the healthy development of solar energy, including subsidies, grid access and financing. It also said that new installed capacity would reach 10 mW annually from 2013 to 2015.

For the past two years, the domestic market has accounted for about 24 percent of overall sales for Yingli.

European experts say newly installed photovoltaic capacity will grow 50 percent in China this year, while in Japan the market is expected to triple last year's level.

Beside the domestic market, Yingli is also eyeing other emerging solar energy countries such as Brazil, South Africa and Malaysia. It is one of the official sponsors of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Total shipments to new markets such as Japan, India, Malaysia, Jordan and African countries are forecast to increase from 1.7 percent in 2010 to 23.1 percent this year.

Apart from the big deal at home, Yingli has also won contracts in South Africa and Malaysia. The company will supply 96 mW PV modules to the Jasper PV project in South Africa's Northern Cape, one of the largest solar projects in the country.

It is also supplying 10 mW PV modules for the Amcorp Power project in Malaysia. The project is the largest single site PV power plant in the country. "We're delighted to make this breakthrough in Southeast Asia," Miao says, adding that this will help reduce Yingli's dependency on Europe.