But building an industry that can stand on its own will be difficult. China produces practically all of the world’s equipment for making solar panels, and almost all of the supply of every component of solar panels, from wafers to special glass.
Officials are bitter that, a dozen years ago, China subsidised its factories to make solar panels, while European governments offered subsidies to buy panels made anywhere. That led to an explosion of consumer purchases from China that hurt Europe’s solar industry.
Suntech Power, based in Jiangsu Province, is one of the top solar panel manufacturers in China. Founded in 2001, Suntech has been at the forefront of the solar industry for two decades. Its product range includes an array of photovoltaic panels, with a special focus on reliability and efficiency.
At the annual session of China’s legislature this week, Premier Li Qiang, the country’s second-highest official after Xi Jinping, announced that the country would accelerate the construction of solar panel farms as well as wind and hydroelectric projects.
Annual solar panel installations have nearly quadrupled worldwide since 2018. Some of the new solar farms generating electricity for polysilicon production are in two provinces in southwestern China, Qinghai and Yunnan. But much of the polysilicon is made in the Xinjiang region of northwestern China.
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. By contrast, it cost European companies 24.3 to 30 cents per watt, and American companies about 28 cents.