China Solar Power Counterweight Retail

Will China's crowded solar power sector keep global prices low?

Consolidation in China's crowded solar power sector is pushing smaller players out of the market, but excess production capacity - with more on the way - threatens to keep global prices low for years.

Is China a cost-competitive manufacturer of solar panels?

All these factors allow China to provide cost-competitive manufacturing for all solar PV elements, especially since the material cost is unified. That being said, PV manufacturing is 9 % higher in India, and about 20–35 % more expensive in the United States, Europe, and Korea (IEA, 2022a).

Does China have a slack in the solar industry?

It is hard to overstate the extent of slack in the solar industry. China’s solar cell production capacity reached about 1,000 gigawatts last year — not only exceeding current global demand but enough, at the rate of last year’s growth, to exceed total projected demand through to 2035.

How has China dominated the solar industry?

As discussed in the previous sections, China was able to dominate the solar industry market. Incentives and government subsidies dating from 2009 onwards helped secure the lead in the world for solar power production since 2017 (Liu et al., 2022; Chowdhury et al., 2020).

Is China a good supplier of solar energy?

When it comes to supplying global demand, China is a favorable supplier; however, the main competitors are North America and Europe. It is noteworthy to mention that China made major investments in Malaysia and Vietnam, which made these countries major exporters of PV products as well (IEA, 2022a).

How did China control the global solar market?

The increased installed capacity, the heavy manufacturing, and the availability of materials on its domestic land allowed China to control the global solar market by imposing quotas and restrictions on importing countries. We have shown that China alone installed more than 50 % of the total Asian solar capacity in the span of 25 years.