Photovoltaic industry powering ahead
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E-mail China Daily, August 13, 2012
Ambitious targets
Meanwhile, the Golden Sun program was launched in 2009 to boost China's use of solar power. The country approved 1.7 gigawatts of Golden Sun projects this year, up from the 1 gW originally planned. The government is likely to add another 1.2 gW of projects under the program this year, in order to boost the domestic market, industry experts estimate.
The government also doubled surcharges on power sales to 0.008 yuan per kWh in order to subsidize renewable energy power generation.
The National Energy Administration has also decided to quadruple the country's 2015 solar energy target to 21 gW.
At the provincial level, many governments are accelerating solar installation projects. For example, Northwest China's Gansu province set the most ambitious target among all the regions, with 5,000 mW of solar capacity to be installed by 2015.
Boosted by the positive momentum, Yingli Solar said it plans to sell 2,500 mW to 2,600 mW of solar panels in 2012, including 900 mW in China. If the goal is met, China will become the company's largest market for the first time.
The company expects domestic sales to contribute 35 percent to revenues next year, up from 6 percent in 2010.
Solar panels makers are also building solar farms since panel prices plunged recently. Running such operations has become more profitable than manufacturing the equipment.
Suntech Power Holdings plans to develop 100 mW of solar projects in Hainan province. Other companies that plan to build solar farms in China include Yingli, Canadian Solar, LDK Solar and JA Solar.
Chinese photovoltaic installed capacity is still quite small compared with wind power development, which is the largest in the world with 62.7 gW of installed capacity as of 2011, or 25 percent of the world's total.
China's installed solar capacity was about 3 gW in 2011, according to figures from the NEA, which is 10 percent of the world's total.
The development of the wind industry may provide a template for how large-scale solar development may unfold in China.
As the wind industry process showed, the Chinese government is prepared to scale renewable development aggressively once the technology reaches a price point that it considers appropriate, and when local manufacturers and developers can competently fulfill the government's growth targets.
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