NEA

Projects not encompassed by the new, central-subsidy-free, ‘grid-parity’ regime will be eligible to bid for a government subsidy. But, at a reported $446 million, the pot is not very big.

Sources have told pv magazine the authorities are ready to restart the nation’s residential rooftop segment and have also agreed upon subsidy payments for other distributed generation and utility-scale projects.

The world’s biggest solar market reached a cumulative installed PV capacity of 174.63 GW at the end of last year.

The thin-film manufacturer and project developer says the Chinese government’s package of measures to drive subsidy-free solar projects will ensure a proliferation of new capacity additions and consolidate the strength of big players like itself.

Beijing has outlined a series of policies mandating local and provincial authorities, state-owned banks and grid operators to pull out the stops to drive the rapid escalation of subsidy-free PV projects. The announcement has seen Chinese solar stocks on the rise.

On November 2, China’s National Energy Administration held a symposium to evaluate the results of the 13th Five-Year Plan for solar PV development at its halfway point, discussing the adjustment of PV and thermal generation targets in the plan. As a result of this, there is renewed positivity regarding China’s domestic solar demand in 2019-2020.

Curtailment issues will prompt Chinese government to focus on new project development in the urban east, to reduce power losses. The central authorities also want to ramp up the electricity trading market and peak shaving technology.

The target of 105 GW of cumulative installed photovoltaic power, which was originally set for the end of the decade, has already been surpassed. PV Info Link says the 2020 solar target may now be revised upwards to 210-270 GW.

On September 21, the Communist Party of China’s anti-graft body said in a statement that it is investigating the head of the country’s energy agency for “serious” disciplinary violations. While some believe the investigation will not change the country’s PV industry, others fear it could hamper crucial programs.

By analyzing satellite imagery, research group, Coalswarm has found that coal-fired power stations in China totaling 259 GW, which were supposed to have been scrapped, are being built. When fully commissioned, they will reportedly represent the equivalent of total coal-fired capacity in the United States. Not only does this news go against China’s current push into renewables, but also raises serious air pollution concerns at a time when levels should be decreasing.