The survey sheds light on the rooftop PV segment in Spain and provides exclusive insights from the perspective of the PV installers. In 2020 significantly more PV installers purchased their PV modules directly from the PV manufacturers as compared to 2019.
The results of the 13th edition of the Global PV Installer Monitor 2020/2021 will be published by EUPD Research this month. The survey targets PV installers in the main European PV markets plus Australia. This year 100 Spanish installation companies participated in the survey. The report provides exclusive insights on the latest developments in the rooftop PV segment in Spain.
Spanish installers have two complaints
One section of the report is dedicated to procurement management. The latest results show that last year 43 % of the surveyed installers procured their PV modules directly from the PV manufacturers. This exhibits a significant increase compared to last year’s results, when only 26 % of the installers purchased their PV modules directly. This shift in the procurement behaviour of the installers comes at the cost of the wholesalers that are specialized in the supply of photovoltaic components. In fact, only 47% of the surveyed installers procured their PV modules from PV wholesalers in 2020 compared to 62 % in 2019.
See also: EU solar market with double-digit growth in 2020
When analyzing the results in more detail, it appears that high volume installers prefer to procure their modules directly from the manufacturers. This way they can increase their profit margin. The opposite holds true for low volume installers, who tend to procure more from wholesalers. This way they can benefit from a higher flexibility. Nevertheless, Spanish installers seem to be somewhat dissatisfied with regards to two aspects of the service provided by wholesalers: long delivery periods and adherence to delivery dates.
Better forecasting is needed
If Spanish wholesalers want to maintain their position as trusted business partners for installers, they will have to improve their capability to forecast the future demand and reduce delivery time.
The results of the latest edition of the Global PV Installer Monitor 2020/2021 will be presented by Davide Pesenti, Associate Research Analyst at EUPD Research, on Thursday, 21 January 2021, during the “Downstream Market Briefing 2021 - Spain” hosted by the Solar & Storage DigiCon. (mfo)
