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China Solar Power

India To Become World’s Third Largest Solar Power Market This Year

written by saurabh

India is set to overtake Japan as the world’s third-largest solar power market this year, a Taiwanese research firm has predicted.

According to EnergyTrend, the global solar PV demand is expected to remain stable at 74 gigawatts this year while India is expected to see sustained growth. The research claims that growth in China’s solar PV demand is expected to reduce slightly as the government has a lower capacity addition target compared to the last year.

Solar power in the world’s second largest market – United States of America – may fall out of favour given the political scenario. Meanwhile, in Japan the government is expected to continue to reduce feed-in tariffs, possibly leading to the dent in investments.

India, on the other hand, is expected to contribute 14% to the global solar PV demand as the government continues to push for a very ambitious installed capacity target of 100 gigawatts by 2022. The target translates into 90 gigawatts capacity addition over the next five years.

India recently crossed the 10 gigawatts installed solar capacity mark. EnergyTrend expects the south Asian country to add another 10 gigawatts this year. The government, on its part, expects to add 20 gigawatts over the next 15 months.

A total of 14 gigawatts capacity is reportedly under construction or at the design stage. A large portion of this capacity is expected to be commissioned during the upcoming financial year, stating 1 April 2017. An additional 6 gigawatts capacity is also scheduled to be auctioned soon.

March 28, 2017 0 comment

China Sees Its Lowest-Ever Solar Power Bid At 7.8¢/kWh

written by saurabh

China has seen its solar power bids fall to a record low in a recent auction held in the province of Inner Mongolia, which is rich in solar energy resources.

According to media reports, the Chinese government conducted an auction for 1 gigawatt (GW) solar power capacity in the Inner Mongolia province. A total of 50 solar power project developers and module manufacturers successfully participated in the auction, which saw the record-low tariff of 7.8¢/kWh.

This tariff bid is comparable to some of the costliest thermal power projects in China, indicating that higher competition in the country would expedite grid parity for solar power projects – as has been the case in other developing markets.

Inner Mongolia is not only rich in solar resources but has ample land resources for the development of large-scale solar power projects, which could explain the low tariff bids.

Inner Mongolia has seen curtailment of wind energy generation over the last few years due to lack of adequate transmission capacity. However, earlier this year, the National Development and Reform Commission mandated grid companies to purchase electricity from wind and solar power projects so as to let them function a set minimum hours in a year.

China’s lowest-ever solar price bids are still higher than the lowest tariffs seen in other parts of the world. For example, Abu Dhabi recently saw a world-record-low solar bid of 2.42¢/kWh while Chile allocated solar power contracts at 2.91¢/kWh a bit earlier.

Image by vectoropenstock.com for CleanTechnica and CleanTechies

September 30, 2016 0 comment

United PV Commissions 100 MW Solar Project Under China’s ‘Front Runner’ Program

written by saurabh

One of the first solar power projects under China’s ‘Front Runner’ technology demonstrator program was recently commissioned.

United Photovoltaics announced that it commissioned a 100 MW solar power project under the ‘Front Runner’ program using concentrated PV technology. The project was commissioned by a subsidiary of United PV – Datong United Photovoltaics New Energy.

The National Energy Administration of China has launched this program to promote manufacture and use of latest technology solar PV modules. Among the various technical parameters the modules must meet is that the conversion efficiency of polycrystalline and monocrystalline modules must exceed 16.5% and 17%, respectively.

The first phase consists of a GW-scale solar power capacity which shall include 13 individual solar power projects. The solar power park shall be located in Datong, Shanxi province. With a total investment of $1.6 billion, the park is expected to generate 1.5 billion kWh of electricity and offset 480,000 tons of coal consumption every year.

Recently, JA Solar announced that it will supply 420 MW solar PV modules to various project developers that have been awarded projects under the program.

JA Solar will be one of the investors and developers of the individual projects in the solar power park and will use 50 MW modules. The balance 370 MW panels will be supplied to 6 companies that will also develop projects within the solar power park; these include the likes of China Three Gorges Corporation, China Huadian Corporation, China Power Investment Corporation, and China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group.

June 30, 2016 0 comment

JA Solar Will Supply 420 MW Modules For Solar Power Technology Demonstrator

written by saurabh

One of the world’s leading solar photovoltaic modules manufacturer JA Solar will also be a major participant in a technology demonstration project being undertaken by the Chinese government.

Last month, JA Solar announced that it will supply 420 MW of solar PV modules for the ‘Front Runner’ programme – a technology demonstrator launched by the Chinese government to promote the development of advanced solar PV technology.

According to a press release issued by the Nasdaq-listed company, the first phase of the this programme shall see installation of 950 MW capacity, thus putting JA Solar’s share at 44%.

The National Energy Administration in China has set high standards for the use of modules in the ‘Front Runner’ programme. Among the various technical parameters the modules must meet is that the conversion efficiency of polycrystalline and monocrystalline modules must exceed 16.5% and 17%, respectively.

June 12, 2016 0 comment