China’s solar target crucial for the global industry
September 11, 2014 Category Alternative energy, Environment
China’s new target for solar power has global implications for a world struggling with climate change. In May, the central government set a target of 70 gigawatt (GW) of solar photovoltaic power plants by 2017. Solar hit 20 GW in China last year, when the world set a new solar power record, adding 39 GW. Solar’s global growth averaged 48% annually between 2009 and last year, more than double that of wind power. Surging orders will fill excess capacity and restore balance sheets. More factories and research into better solar cells by Chinese manufacturers is the likely result. In the medium term solar prices will continue falling, performance will rise, and profits may pick up. But the revenues of grid companies could face pressure as rooftop solar installations reduce the demand for power from far-off generators. More solar and wind power will also require the laying of new power lines, such as the ultra-high-voltage network being built in China. China’s rooftop, or distributed, solar target of for this year is 8 GW out of a total of 14 GW. Distributed solar can be more efficient than far-flung large power plants because power is produced near where people need it. All else being equal, more distributed solar points to a smaller grid, plus lower carbon emissions and cleaner air, the South China Morning Post reports.
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