China to raise minimum capital ratio to 30% for solar manufacturing

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The GCL SI Hefei gigafactory in China.
The draft is part of a raft of proposals which the MIIT said was designed to strengthen the management of the Chinese PV industry. Image: GCL SI

The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has issued a draft rule raising the minimum capital ratio for solar PV manufacturing projects to 30%.

The draft is part of a raft of proposals which the MIIT said was designed to strengthen the management of the Chinese PV industry.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

Previously, the minimum capital ratio was 30% for polysilicon plants and 20% for other parts of the solar manufacturing chain like wafer, cell and module production. The draft rules will be open for public consultation until 15 July.

The rule applies to both new projects and expansions of existing facilities.

Among the other proposals, the MIIT said that the annual output of solar manufacturing facilities must not be less than 50% of the total annual production capacity and that spending on research and development (R&D) must account for a minimum of 3% of total sales, and not be less than RMB10 million (US$1.4 million).

Currently, solar manufacturing capacity in China is vastly in excess of global demand. A Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) report earlier this year found that no new solar manufacturing capacity was needed for the rest of this decade to meet global deployment targets.

Simultaneously, numerous solar PV testing institutions have reported a rise in quality issues and manufacturing defects. Notably, the US’ Clean Energy Associates and Kiwa PVEL published separate reports showing an increase in defects in solar modules.

PV Tech Power published a deep dive into quality concerns earlier this year, as the problem was looming.

The draft includes recommendations for minimum cell, module and inverter efficiencies and the ecological impact of new manufacturing sites.

It also features a list of criteria which will exclude new facilities from approval if they are not met. These include stipulations on inspection, auditing, product sampling and safety and pollution.

7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.
10 March 2026
Frankfurt, Germany
The conference will gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing out to 2030 and beyond.

Read Next

Premium
October 6, 2025
Talon PV aims to be the first US company to safely manufacture TOPCon cells at scale, backed by European technology and a crucial First Solar licensing deal.
October 6, 2025
Indian infrastructure company focused on rooftop and ground-based solar power installations, PVV Infra has secured solar power orders worth INR7.9 billion (US$90 million) through two of its subsidiaries. 
October 6, 2025
US utility AES Corporation is reportedly in discussions to be acquired by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a subsidiary of global asset owning giant BlackRock.
October 6, 2025
Indian solar developer ACME Group has established a new subsidiary to manage its renewable equipment manufacturing business, under which it is planning to scale production of TOPCon PV modules.
October 6, 2025
Rajasthan government will develop 500MW/2,000MWh of standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) with a four-hour single-cycle configuration and extended operational life.
October 3, 2025
Renewables developer Madison Energy Infrastructure has bought the US distributed generation assets of NextEra Energy Resources.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland