Although 2015 will not mark a return to the heady days of 2009-2011, when demand for PV modules was largely driven by overly generous European feed-in tariffs and profits were fat, the global PV market is on firmer footing than it has been for years.

The world will add a record 61GW of PV capacity in 2015, IHS predicts, up from 48GW in 2014, itself a record performance.