In a new report published by the SEMI PV Group, in collaboration with the SEMI China PV Advisory Committee and the China PV Industry Alliance (CPIA), a policy roadmap has been presented outlining how China can reach a global average PV electricity penetration level of 1.3% PV electricity by 2020. The report, entitled, “China’s Solar Future –A Recommended China PV Policy Roadmap 2.0”, uses the IEA Solar PV Roadmap as a benchmark for China, so that the country, which is well known as an export of PV goods, can better partake in using PV power as part of its energy consumption.
The report by SEMI not only speculates that 1.3% PV electricity can be reached by 2020, but by 2030, China can achieve 4.6% PV electricity. However, to achieve both the 2020 and 2030 PV electricity goals, the Chinese government will have to support the growth of PV projects and lead the country to 60GW of installed PV capacity by 2020 and 270GW by 2030.
Currently, China, which happens to be one of the most rapidly developing countries in the world, has a PV power consumption of less than 1GW. This leads China to fall below Japan, the US and various European countries in PV power use. However, according to the report, by following the detailed PV installation roadmap with annual targets up to 2030, China can immerse itself in PV power consumption and reach the goals SEMI has projected.
“Driven by increasing global demand, Chinese companies have been rapidly ramping up production capacities, making China the world’s top producer of PV cells and modules. In 2010, China produced more than 50% of global total production of solar cells and modules,” said Allen Lu, president of the SEMI China.
“However, on the PV installation front, the situation is quite different. It is hoped that the goals presented in the recommended policy roadmap will serve as a reference document for the Chinese government when setting national targets and new policies for PV. The exact outcome is still unclear, but what is certain is that relying only on hydro, wind, and nuclear will not be sufficient for China to address the challenges of climate change and energy security. PV must be an important part of the solution,” concluded Lu.
The report examines different government incentive models from which it proposes numerous policy recommendations. The recommendations happen to be a follow-up to a China policy paper that SEMIV PV issued in 2009. Overall, the roadmap endorses a fast-track adoption of PV generated electric power in China, which should then allow the country to reach a global average level of PV power generation by 2020.
SEMI PV Group’s report can be downloaded here.