A major push to install rooftop solar panels on Chinese buildings is putting the nation on track for another record-setting year on renewable energy.
Rooftops and buildings in China fitted with solar panels could match the current global capacity of the entire industry, according to new analysis.
The country's rapid development of rooftop solar capacity is also driven by government incentives. Newly added annual installed capacity for solar stations has been around 30 GW on average over the past few years, China New Energy Investment and Financing Alliance said.
Most of that rooftop solar has been added in the past two years, as China offered support for local governments to boost installations, and raised power rates to businesses, making generating their own electricity more attractive.
Rooftop solar PV installations in China may surge in the next three years as the country goes through a green energy transition and plans to make renewable energy a key cornerstone in the country's path to a greener economy, a recent research report said.
Fishman, an energy analyst at the Lantau Group, an economic consultancy firm in Shanghai, was keen to meet with developers in Shandong to understand how China is developing extensive rooftop solar installations at such a remarkable pace.