Solar power growing fast in China

Falling module and balance of system (BOS) prices have significantly improved photovoltaic project internal rates of return and led to an explosion in project development activities in China. The recently released Solarbuzz China Deal Tracker report states that the non-residential PV project pipeline in China grew to 16 GW at the end of October.

Solarbuzz identified 1,104 non-residential projects in China that are installed, being installed, or in development. According to the report, 195 projects, with a total capacity of over 1.8 GW, will be installed within 2011. That installed capacity in China will closely match the installed capacity in the US this year.

More than half (54 per cent) of the capacity in megawatt terms will be located in the northwest region of China. The top seven project developer groups account for nearly 1 GW of PV demand in 2011, including state-owned enterprises China Power Investment Corporation, China Guodian Corporation, China Huadian Corporation, China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Corporation, and China Energy Conservation & Environmental Protection Group. The CHINT Group is the only private enterprise among the top seven developers.

In the current project pipeline, building-mount projects only account for about 10 per cent of total capacity. If system prices continue to fall, electricity generation by PV will become economic for self-consumption by industrial and commercial users as early as 2013. This will greatly stimulate building-mount project development by the corporate sector in China.