China

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  On July 24 2011 the Chinese government introduced a unified grid solar power tariff.

UPDATE: November 2011

March 2011

The National Development and Reform Commission in China has launched a new feed-in tariff (FiT) for both open and non-competitive PV project tenders that are above those previously accepted in the last bidding process. According to reports, electricity grid operators will pay solar developers RMB1.15 (US$0.18) per kilowatt-hour on projects approved before July 1, 2011 or be completed by the end of 2011. A price of at RMB1 per kilowatt-hour will be paid on projects approved after July 1.

Tariffs in the last bidding round were as low as RMB0.73 and only as high as RMB0.99 yuan per kilowatt-hour, suggesting China is relatively keen to not penalise PV projects that can offer significantly lower pricing than most other regions of the world.

According to Jeffries, the new solar FiT in China is calculated to allow high single digit IRR. In a research note, Jeffries analysts said that due to the RMB appreciating and the impact of steep module pricing declines in recent months, the module pricing in China is now attractive at around US$1.20/w. With 1RMB/kWh FiT and <US$2/w installed system, project developers get high single-digit IRRs.

Jeffries estimates that there are roughly 500-600MW projects approved by the local and central NDRC (such as Qinghai Huanghe Hydropower projects), which could qualify for the RMB1.15/kWh FiT.

Jeffries forecasted that China solar demand would reach 2GW in 2012 and could become a 5GW+ annual market in subsequent years.

History

The BIPV subsidy program:

This was China’s first solar subsidy program. Announced in March 2009, this offered RMB20/watt (€2.40) for BIPV systems and RMB15/watt (€1.80) for rooftop systems.

The Golden Sun Program:

Launched on July 21, 2000, this programme was set up to facilitate the growth and expansion of the PV industry through fiscal subsidies, scientific and technological support and market incentives to accelerate the industrialization of PV technological and enable large-scale development of the PV industry. To qualify for the subsidy, each project must have a generating capacity of at least 300kW, construction must be completed in one year and operations have to last for at least 20 years. Total generating capacity in each province should not exceed 20MW.

1. The government will subsidize grid-connected projects and relevant power transmission and distribution installations by 50%.

2. Independent PV solar systems in remote regions will receive a subsidy of 70%/

3. Grid companies are required to buy all surplus electricity output from solar power projects that generate primarily for the developers’ own needs, at similar rates to benchmark on-grid tariffs set for coal-fired power generators.