China's
government agencies are formulating a series of measures to help the solar
photovoltaic market, aiming at an increase in total installed photovoltaic
capacity to 10 million kilowatts by 2015, China Securities Journal reported.
China's
National Energy Bureau recently issued a notification, directing various
provinces, regions and cities to file their respective plans for developing
distributed photovoltaic-power applications and the locations where they would
be demonstration before Oct. 15.
The
notification caps the number of photovoltaic power generation systems in any
single region or city at three, and total installed capacity at 500,000
kilowatts. This means the total capacity of distributed photovoltaic power
generation systems in various cities and regions of the country's 31 provinces may
exceed 15 million kilowatts during the initial period.
The
implementation areas for these projects include Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai.
The government will provide subsidies for the implementation of these projects
and to users of these projects.
Meanwhile,
the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is planning to set up entry
barriers for photovoltaic enterprises entering the market.
Under the
solar energy development project of China's Five-Year Economic Development Plan
(2011-2015), China will focus for the first time on installing distributed
photovoltaic power generation systems, aimed at increasing installed capacity
to 10 million kilowatts by 2015. Currently, installed capacity is almost zero,
and there is ample room for development in this area.
Given the
current installation cost of distributed photovoltaic power generation systems
at 15,000 yuan (US$2,380) per kilowatts, the total investment in solar-power
generation is expected to reach 150 billion yuan (US$23.8 billion) by 2015.
The report
said the government would aggressively promote distributed photovoltaic power
generation at industrial parks in cities and large enterprises. The price of
solar photovoltaic power is close to those of the power used by industries and
businesses, and the resulting economic benefits would usher in an era of fair
prices for electricity.
Since
photovoltaic exports are being obstructed by the US anti-dumping move and
countervailing duty, and the EU's anti-dumping duties, the domestic market
could increasingly consume overcapacities in photovoltaic power, the report
said, citing an analyst.
The analyst
predicted that the domestic market would absorb 30%-50% of China's production
of photovoltaic batteries in the future.
To cope
with overproduction and vicious competition in the photovoltaic industry, the
government will raise entry barriers and promote orderly development.
During the
five-year plan period, the government aims to create a photovoltaic enterprise
with annual sales of more than 100 billion yuan (US$15.87 billion), 3-5
enterprises with annual sales of more than 50 billion yuan (US$7.93 billion)
and 3-4 photovoltaic components companies with annual sales of more than 1
billion yuan (US$158.66 million).
Since the
beginning of this year, nearly 80% of China's polysilicon enterprises have
suspended production, affecting investments worth more than 50 billion yuan
(US$7.93 billion) in the industry.