The eastern region has great accumulated photovoltaic electricity potential, which is 3.21 times that of the western region. Rooftop photovoltaic system plays an important role in solar energy power generation especially in urban. In this paper, we present an assessment method for the PV power generation potential of rooftop in China.
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.
In 2021, China’s newly installed capacity of distributed PV is 29.27 GWp, accounting for 55% of the total installed capacity. It has entered a rapid development stage (Li and Huang, 2020, Anon, 2022a). There are 676 rooftop solar photovoltaic (RTSPV) pilot projects in 31 provinces in China in 2021 (Anon, 2021a).
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 the country's distributed solar photovoltaics are installed in the eastern and southern parts of China, where the economy is prosperous and demand for power is greater, including in Zhejiang, Shandong, Jiangsu and Anhui provinces.