The thin-film photovoltaic (TFPV) market will produce the equivalent of 26 gigawatts (GW) by 2015 and will generate well over US$20 billion in revenues in that same time frame according to industry analyst NanoMarkets. By 2015, NanoMarkets expects that TFPV will account for more than half of the world's production of photovoltaics.

The recent success of cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cells is also likely to continue and by 2015 NanoMarkets expects that this will be the single largest segment of the TFPV market considered by active material with US$8.7 billion in revenues. CdTe has many advantages such as a high optical absorption coefficient and a bandgap that has been described as close to perfect for PV. Also, many of the environmental concerns that have been associated with CdTe in the past seem to be dissipating.

In spite of higher price points and outstanding manufacturing challenges, CIS/CIGS is still the star of the TFPV world. The technology promises to combine all the advantages of thin film with higher conversion efficiencies approaching those of conventional crystalline PV. NanoMarkets believes that the CIS/CIGS sector will produce almost US$5.0 billion in revenues by 2015.

Because of its low cost, low weight and ability to be fabricated onto flexible substrates TFPV is likely to be highly preferred for residential applications over conventional PV and by 2015 NanoMarkets expects a US$2.3 billion market for the residential TF PV market.