Chinese Plan To Boost Solar Capacity Boosts Solar Stocks
The past few years has seen China supplant European countries as the world’s largest solar manufacturer as well as begin to dominate the installation process as well, with Chinese solar installations becoming more and more a mainstay in the electricity generation mix.
This trend will only continue, especially in light of news posted on the government’s website, which states that China is aiming to add 10 GW of solar power a year over the next three years. This would boost China’s solar capacity fivefold, up to at least 35 GW by 2015.
As a result of this news, both Xinyu-based LDK Solar Co. (LDK) and Wuxi-based Suntech Power Holdings Co. rose more than 19% in New York trading.
Bloomberg analysts believe that the added demand created by installing more solar photovoltaic installations will help alleviate industry oversupply, oversupply that contributed to a 20% plunge in the average price of solar panels in 2012.
“I think they’re going to sustain these high levels of growth and soak up some of the excess capacity, maybe getting up to 8 to 9 gigawatts a year,” Angelo Zino, an analyst at Standard & Poor’s in New York, said today in an interview.
The statement released by the Chinese government is available to read here, but you’ll need a pretty decent grasp of a) Chinese or b) Google translator. China is prepared to provide credit support to support profitable photovoltaic manufacturers and encourage restructuring and overseas investment, though no measuring stick for ‘profitable’ was given.
This comes at a rough time for the Chinese solar industry as they have found themselves in disfavour in Europe and the US. However, tariffs and other restrictions may soon be worked out.
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It’ s not “up to 35 GW by 2015″. If we can trust Google translate. it’s “35 million kilowatts or more.” (My italics). This is called flooring the pedal.
The government document puts distributed PV first, ahead of utility. This can’t possibly be a mistranslation or accidental.
That is correct.
100 large scale demonstration projects are planned until 2015 and 1000 city and village projects.Plus private and institutional installations. But no detailed numbers for these are given in the plan.
All grid connected power will be distributed by utilities.
The term ” utility scale PV ” I read only in Anglican texts. This term seems to be unknown in other languages.
Since all grid connected electricity is utility electricity.
For dependency or indepedency on fossile/atomic fuels it is non-relevant how small or large the individually connected RE installations are .
Only for pricing the installation costs ( money per installed capacity unit) the term “utility scale” might make sense.
But would be to indifferent to mean anything compareable.
“The term “utility scale PV ” I read only in Anglican texts.” You must have a different edition of the Book of Common Prayer than I do.
In the US we tend to break things down as “utility or utility scale”, “commercial” – large commercial rooftop, and “residential”.
It helps with tracking installation costs.
And there is a difference between utility and commercial/residential to the utility/grid company.
Commercial/residential largely shows up in their calculations as load decreases, sales they don’t get to make (or sometimes a welcome drop in peak demand). Utility solar show up as supply, stuff they can sell.
My renewable energy portfolio is blowing up!!! Let’s make the world solar powered!!!!
“This trend will only continue, especially in light of news posted on the government’s website, which states that China is aiming to add 10 GW of solar power a year over the next three years. This would boost China’s solar capacity fivefold, up to at least 35 GW by 2015.”
Most articles that I’ve read show its 35 GW. Which one is correct? 35 GW or 35 million KW?
35 million kw would be 35 billion watts or 35GW…they are the same number.
35GW = 35,000,000,000 watts.
35 Million Kw = 35,000,000 times 1 kw which is 1000 watts.