Photovoltaics will continue to be a fast growing industry, according to the European Commission’s Joint Research Center (JRC).

In its newly published report, 2012 Photovoltaics Status Report, JRC indicated that the PV industry production rose by almost 40 percent in 2011, reaching a worldwide production volume of about 35 GWp of PV modules.

Last year, worldwide new investments into the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors represented $263 billion, including $25.8 billion R&D spending. For the second year in a row, solar power attracted the largest amount of new investments into renewable energies and increased by 44 percent to $128 billion.

Compiling investment analysts and industry prognoses, JRC said solar energy will continue to grow at high rates in the coming years. The different Photovoltaic Industry Associations, as well as Greenpeace, the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) and the International Energy Agency, have developed new scenarios for the future growth of PV.