However, an evaluation of the many challenges faced in the adoption of photovoltaic power must be made while envisioning the future society that will adopt it, including the technology, economics, industry, market, regional variability, adoption level and availability of resources. The LCS has been analyzing the cost structures of various PV power systems so far, and has established a method to evaluate the manufacturing cost and CO₂ emissions in detail based on the estimated technical level. In this paper, using the results of the previous research, we considered the expansion trend of the PV power system industry by 2050.
　Specifically, we first summarized the current industry and market trends, and estimated the future installed PV power system capacity, market size and the number of employees on a worldwide and Japan basis necessary to achieve a zero-carbon society. The role of PV power systems in Japan will become more important as it works to achieve a zero-carbon society, and PV power system installed capacity will range from 400 GW to 1,400 GW in 2050 depending on power demand and the grid system technologies. On the other hand, Japan’s proportion of the global market will shrink. Second, we evaluated the availability of expanding PV power system resource potentials in the future due to technology development. Finally, we proposed industrial strategy for PV power systems as one of major power sources to achieve zero-carbon society. It is necessary to quantify availability of high penetration of PV power systems, and to promote technological development that can lead to expansion into the global market based on quantitative evaluation. It is important to produce timely evaluations that can contribute to the technological development and industrial development of PV power systems.