China to Add More Than 1 Gigawatt of Photovoltaic Power in 2011

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources China (Beijing, China)--China's installed capacity of photovoltaic power is expected to increase by more than 1 gigawatt (GW) in 2011, according to Meng Xiangan, the vice chairman of China Renewable Energy Association.

The newly added capacity will be mainly concentrated in western China, where a local provincial government promises that all photovoltaic power projects commissioned prior to September 30 this year are entitled to enjoy the on-grid electricity sale price of RMB 1.15 yuan ($0.177) per kilowatt-hour. Encouraged by this policy, all leading wind power operators in China have rushed to the province for photovoltaic power development. "It's expected that the installed capacity of photovoltaic power in the province will be increased by 800 megawatts (MW). Including the capacity supported by the Golden Sun Program launched by the Ministry of Finance, the installed capacity of photovoltaic power is expected to increase by more than 1 GW this year," said Meng.

The National Energy Administration has worked out the objective to expand the installed capacity of solar power in China to 10 GW by the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15). This objective covers both photovoltaic power and solar thermal electric power. According to the plan, China will develop 5 GW of solar power in the Xinjiang, Tibet, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Qinghai and Yunnan provinces. The Ministry of Finance also proposed to add 1 GW of solar energy via its Golden Sun Program every year from 2013 through 2015.

While China's photovoltaic sector shows signs of growth, photovoltaic power generation capacity in China is far less than nuclear power and wind power at present. Once the industry has matured, it could experience similar problems as other types of generation, including difficulties in grid connection and the coordination of sales prices, as seen in the wind power market.

As of the end of 2010, China's installed capacity of wind power with connection to the grid was 31.08 GW, while the capacity of photovoltaic power was only slightly more than 200 MW.

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