China’s solar PV market grows despite US tariffs - GlobalData

Mubasher: China’s solar photovoltaic (PV) exports reached 58 gigawatts (GW) during the first nine months of 2019, despite the introduction of tariffs on Chinese solar panels by the US, according to a statement by GlobalData.

“In June 2018, the Chinese government released the Solar PV Power Generation Notice, imposing installation caps and reduced the feed-in tariff (FiT) for solar projects in the country,” director of power at GlobalData, Harminder Singh, commented.

According to the government notice, a cap of 10GW was imposed on the distributed generation (DG) projects for 2018.

China set a utility-scale project target of 13.9 GW for 2018. Nonetheless, the government order highlighted that the 2018 utility-scale target had been abolished, instructing all regional provinces to impose bans on all bodies seeking FiTs under the 2018 mechanism.

“FiTs have also been reduced by RMB 0.05/kWh ($0.0075/kWh) across the board. Consequently, the annual capacity addition, which was 53GW in 2017, dropped to 44GW in 2018 and GlobalData estimates the annual capacity addition in 2019 will drop further to 41GW. The capacity additions are expected to be in the range of 43-45GW during 2020 to 2022, which would lead to increased domestic demand.”

Early 2019, the federal government of China announced the end of its Fit scheme for large-scale solar and wind power capacity, while allowing its provincial government to promote subsidised solar and wind power projects.

China’s administration is readying to reverse auction-based subsidy programme which would boost utility scale solar project development but at lower cost and in a more controlled way.

Last July, the National Energy Administration (NEA) in China gave the greenlight to 3,921 PV power projects with a total capacity of 22.78 GW in the country’s first solar PV tender.

The approved price ranged from RMB 0.2795 ($0.0406)/kWh to RMB 0.55 ($0.08)/kWh.

“GlobalData figures show that the global solar PV market is expected to see a 13% growth in installations, from 92GW in 2018 to 105GW in 2019. This has been the key reason for the growth in exports from China, considering the cost differential between Chinese and other manufacturers.” Singh noted.

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