China installed an impressive 7.21 gigawatts of new solar capacity in the first quarter of 2017, and generated 21.4 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, up 80% over the same period a year earlier.
According to a statement from the country’s National Energy Administration, China added 7.21 gigawatts (GW) of new solar capacity in the first quarter, made up of 4.78 GW of utility-scale solar, and 2.43 GW of distributed solar PV. This brings the country’s cumulative solar PV capacity up to almost 85 GW.
However, curtailment issues still plague various regions in China. While curtailment/abandonment figures for Ningxia and Gansu dropped by 10% and 19% respectively, the regions of Qinghai, Shaanxi, and Inner Mongolia all saw their curtailment issues increase by 9%, 11%, and 8% respectively, while Xinjiang’s curtailment figure is still astronomically high, at 39%.
The central and eastern regions of the country saw the greatest share of new solar PV capacity, with 6.39 GW installed, or 89% of the total.
