Germany is one of the largest and most important markets for photovoltaics. Plants with capacities of 7.5 gigawatts (GW) were installed in 2010 and 2011. Experts predict that photovoltaics could cover 7 percent of energy requirements in Germany by 2020.
The German market especially benefits from stable basic conditions and planning reliability. Germany's share of the world market will, however, decrease in the future. The reasons for this are a shortage of possible sites for large outdoor PV power plants as well as an above-average growth in other regions.