China to quadruple solar power generating capacity

• 10 years ago (2013-07-16)
• David Flin

Asia 850 Renewables 752

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China’s State Council has given official backing the State Grid’s target of quadrupling the country’s solar power generating capacity to 35GW by 2015. The State Council said in a statement that China will add about 10GW per year from 2013-2015. At the end of 2012, China’s installed solar power generating capacity stood at 8GW.

China’s solar panel manufacturing capacity is estimated at about 45GW per year. This compares with a global demand of about 35GW per year.

However, some experts have suggested that reaching the target may prove difficult, due to a lack of funding for solar subsidies and an absence of infrastructure required to harness intermittent renewable energy. Jason Cai, Chief Analyst with the Shanghai-based consultancy Solarzoom, said: “I think China can boost capacity to 21GW, but it will be very difficult to reach 35GW.”