Sunny Skies Over China

In case you have not been paying attention, the growth of China’s solar industry has been remarkable. In the last year alone, China quadrupled installed solar capacity by deploying a record-breaking 12.1 gigawatts in 2013.

As the world’s largest manufacturer of solar photovoltaic panels and the world’s largest energy user, it might seem obvious that China would make such impressive strides in solar energy. But this phenomenon has only happened because the Chinese have begun to look beyond exporting clean tech and applying it domestically. This growth also reflects a larger trend, according to the Pew Charitable Trust; solar outpaced all other renewable energies in total installed capacity for the first time in over a decade.

China seems to be doing its part to make sure it stays that way, with a goal to install fourteen gigawatts of solar energy this year, to break its own record. The Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index or RECAI, created by consultants at EY, explains that in order to encourage solar companies to make this goal, the Chinese government selected over one-hundred of them eligible for domestic support. The operators who run the state-owned electricity grid must buy all solar power offered by their clients or face penalties. 

 “China has remained a dominant market in the index, reflecting an unprecedented pace of deployment backed by substantial targets and continued high growth in energy demand,” said Klair White, editor of the RECAI report. The United States had been ahead on investment in renewables in years past, but China closed the gap and took the lead in 2013. White went on to explain, “In the U.S., the shale-gas boom and underlying partisan politics continued to put strain on the renewables sector.”

China’s solar growth also reflects the need to not only meet energy demands, but to do it while trying to reduce the impact on the environment. As the largest energy user, it is also number one in the world in carbon dioxide emissions. Approximately sixty-nine percent of China’s energy consumption is supplied by coal, with the goal of capping use at sixty-five percent by 2017. Coal consumption reduction targets outline the Chinese government’s twelfth five-year plan to raise the amount of non-fossil fuels in China’s total energy production to fifteen percent by 2020.

Looking ahead, China has solar energy target goals of thirty-five gigawatts installed solar by 2015 and fifty gigawatts by 2020.  In order to facilitate such rapid development, China is also in the process of introducing ultra-high-voltage electricity lines to help reduce loads on the existing grid.

About GreenShine: http://www.greenshine-solar.com/

Greenshine New Energy, LLC. Specializes in developing and manufacturing customized solar powered lighting systems for a wide range of lighting applications. At Greenshine we specialize in solar street lights, garden lights, and lawn lights for outdoor applications. Our lights can be installed anywhere, especially areas where grid tied electricity is not available.