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.
China unleashed the full might of its solar energy industry last year. It installed more solar panels than the United States has in its history. It cut the wholesale price of panels it sells by nearly half. And its exports of fully assembled solar panels climbed 38 percent while its exports of key components almost doubled.
The company’s U.S. projects could tap renewable energy manufacturing subsidies provided by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. China’s cost advantage is formidable. A research unit of the European Commission calculated in a report in January that Chinese companies could make solar panels for 16 to 18.9 cents per watt of generating capacity.
The emphasis on solar power is the latest installment in a two-decade program to make China less dependent on energy imports. China’s solar exports have already drawn urgent responses.
The pilot alone could deliver installed capacity around 100GW, analysts estimate. If the policy is rolled out across the country, it could eventually reach 600GW. “China is making very impressive efforts to install solar energy,” Xing Zhang, senior analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
And its exports of fully assembled solar panels climbed 38 percent while its exports of key components almost doubled. Get ready for an even bigger display of China’s solar energy dominance.