China Keeps up the Pace of Solar Capacity Additions despite the COVID Crisis

China has been the prime driver of solar capacity additions globally over the past 5-6 years as it installs nearly 30%-40% of the total global solar energy capacity every year. The size of the Chinese solar market dwarfs the other large markets such as India, USA by a factor of 4x-5x. Even in 2020, the installations of solar energy during the first half of 2020 were around 11 GW which is the same as the capacity that was installed last year during the first half of 2019.

The country has targeted installations of 48.5 GW this year which would almost be 50% of the total global solar additions. The Chinese market is fueled by the solar panel manufacturers who churn out millions of solar panels every year at very low costs leading to low prices making them competitive with other fuel sources. The overall Chinese solar panel capacity is now more than 200 GW making up almost 35% of the total global solar capacity. Even in wind energy, China has a humongous share with plans to install almost 35 GW of wind energy capacity in 2020. To understand the volume of the Chinese capacity, the overall Indian installed capacity of wind energy is 35 GW which China would install in a year.

Also, read Will the COVID Crisis Push Renewables across the world.

In renewable energy, China has not only captured the manufacturing industry in terms of the sheer scale and low costs but also in terms of installations. The developers and the manufacturers have developed a great feedback loop in which larger-scale results in bigger factories leading to lower costs and even greater installation. While other countries are trying to stop the Chinese juggernaut through different types of trade barriers, not many have been successful as Chinese companies have set up manufacturing bases in SE Asia, Mexico, and some even in the USA.

You might also like Indian Solar Energy Tariff hit a Record Low despite COVID Crisis