Oversupply pushed prices of finished solar panels in China down 42% in 2023, making Chinese panels more than 60% cheaper than U.S.-made equipment, with some module-only manufacturers taking orders at negative margins to preserve market share, said Wood Mackenzie analyst Huaiyan Sun.
At the end of 2023, China's annual production capacity for finished solar modules was 861 gigawatts (GW) equivalent according to China Photovoltaic Industry Association data, more than double global module installations of 390 GW.
China accounts for 80% of solar module production capacity after years of subsidies, driving oversupply that has triggered a collapse in global prices and provoked import duties from trading partners to stave off being swamped by low-cost equipment.
According to the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, the country is set to install up to 120 GW of solar power in 2023. But manufacturers should have big module inventories accumulating, noted another source, which if unleashed on the market may suggest more downslides on the horizon.
And despite all the turmoil, the Chinese solar industry has the manufacturing capacity to meet the demand. Discover all statistics and data on Solar energy in China now on statista.com!
The cost of installing a centralized solar power station in 2021 is 4.15 yuan ($0.66) per watt, according to Wang Bohua, honorary chairman of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA), at Clean Energy Expo China 2022.