This year the nation’s new photovoltaic installations are predicted to reach a range of between 95 and 120 gigawatts according to recent projections from the CPIA.
Officials and experts predict that PV capacity will grow at a record rate this year, and more policies are in the works to support this growth and maximize solar power applications.
The National Energy Administration’s deputy head of the new energy and renewable energy bureau, Xiong Minfeng, recently stated that additional efforts are anticipated to promote technical innovation, cultivate a positive business climate, and explore novel scenarios of solar power applications and novel business models in response to issues that impede the industry’s development, such as the lack of land available for the installation of PV facility installations and the lack of adequate energy storage.
Xiong said that, moving forward, the NEA will work with the Ministry of Natural Resources to support the introduction of policies pertaining to the use of PV on land and in forests, as well as a mechanism to optimise the operations of power storage facilities to maximize the use of new energies.
The fast-growing PV industry in China, which has already made significant strides in the past year, breaking records for annual new installations, new distributed PV installations, total solar power installations, and PV exports, according to the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, needed the measures to support a more balanced development.
This year the nation’s new photovoltaic installations are predicted to reach a range of between 95 and 120 gigawatts according to recent projections from the CPIA.
Wang Bohua, honorary chairman of the CPIA stated that the configuration of energy storage facilities in a specific ratio to solar power plants based on their capacities has become a requirement for the construction of PV power generation plants as a measure to prevent solar energy waste and support stable operation of power grids.
Investment in power storage projects, however, could be a significant burden for PV investors in the absence of a developed commercial model for energy storage. Wang added that it is challenging to reap the benefits because few of the energy storage systems in PV power generation plants are connected to the grid.
The rising cost of power storage in solar power generation plants, the uncertainty caused by the adjustment of electricity fees during peak hours in some provinces, and the dearth of land suitable for PV use are additional issues that impede the industry’s sustainable development.
At the same time, Wang said, foreign trade restrictions and other nations’ support for the growth of domestic PV enterprises have made it difficult for Chinese businesses to export PV products.
Jin Lei, an official at the department of digital information under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that further efforts will be made to strengthen regulations and guide the industry to develop in an orderly manner.
Last year, China’s new PV installations reached a record 87.41 GW, a year-on-year increase of 59.3%. Centralized PV installations increased by 36.3 GW, distributed PV installations surged by 51.1 GW, accounting for 60% of overall new PV installed capacity.
The past year has seen a rapid acceleration in the international expansion of China’s booming PV industry. According to the CPIA, exports of PV products from the nation increased 80.3 percent on a yearly basis to $51.25 billion.
Last year, the export value of solar modules was around $42.36 billion and the export volume was around 153.6 GW, both of which were record-breaking increases of 72.1 percent and 55.8 percent, respectively.
China’s PV product exports increased to varying degrees throughout the region. According to the association, the European market had the fastest growth rate among them, increasing by 114.9 percent year over year.
With about 46% of the value of all exports, Europe continued to be China’s top destination for PV facility exports in 2022.