The measures came as a way to promote the healthier development of China's fast-developing PV industry, which has already made new breakthroughs in the past year, setting records in annual new installations, new distributed PV installations, total solar power installations and PV exports, said the China Photovoltaic Industry Association.
Most of China's solar power is generated within its western provinces and is transferred to other regions of the country. In 2011, China owned the largest solar power plant in the world at the time, the Huanghe Hydropower Golmud Solar Park, which had a photovoltaic capacity of 200 MW.
Photovoltaic research in China began in 1958 with the development of China's first piece of monocrystalline silicon. Research continued with the development of solar cells for space satellites in 1968. The Institute of Semiconductors of the Chinese Academy of Sciences led this research for a year, stopping after batteries failed to operate.
Government subsidies for solar power have also been attributed to over construction, as many solar power projects have been funded by the Chinese government but do not operate at full capacity due to the inability to transfer the full energy capacity from production sites.
As of at least 2024, China has one third of the world's installed solar panel capacity. Most of China's solar power is generated within its western provinces and is transferred to other regions of the country.
Thanks to Chinese PV companies' continuous technological innovation, enhanced independent R&D, and improved production efficiency, China leads the world in PV output and capacity, and multiple segments of the PV industry chain," said Liu Yiyang, deputy secretary-general of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association.