China’s export volume of solar modules from January to August has exceeded 100 GW, surpassing the total export volume in 2021, said Wang Bohua, Honorary Chairman of China’s Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) last Friday.
The total value of solar module exports has reached 35.77 billion USD.
Wang is optimistic about solar deployments globally. He cited International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)’s data and said solar power generation will account for 29% of total power generation by 2050 under the 1.5°C Scenario. International Energy Agency (IEA) predicted that the share of solar energy will surpass 30% by 2050 in the agency’s pathway to net zero.
Meanwhile, China has extensive potential for solar deployments. The construction of large-scale wind and solar power plants are underway in desert areas. 26 provinces have made ambitious plans to roll out solar before 2025, with a total planned installation capacity of 406.55 GW.
On the manufacturing end, the supply chain is becoming diversified as the U.S, the European Union, India and other countries have vowed to establish local solar supply chains.
Domestically, solar manufacturers are taking big strides to ramp up production capacity. Over 300 production expansion projects have been launched in the first half of 2022, according to Wang.
The production capacities of polysilicon, wafer, cell and module have all grown by over 45% in the same period.
Solarbe Global reported that the planned solar cell and module production expansion in China has exceeded 650 GW in the first half of 2022.
Wang warned against rising risks of overcapacity and increasing competition as more newcomers are entering the solar industry.
