Solar power in China
[1] After substantial government incentives were introduced in 2011, China's solar power market grew dramatically: the country became the world's leading installer of photovoltaics in 2013.
[8] Chinese President Xi Jinping announced at the 2020 Climate Ambition Summit that China plans to have 1,200 GW of combined solar and wind energy capacity by 2030.
[10][11] The expansion of the solar sector in China has been criticized due to the large quantities of waste being produced and improperly disposed of from the production of photovoltaic cells.
[1] That year, a program aimed to install more solar and wind energy in Tibet, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, and Sichuan was introduced by the National Development and Planning Commission.
Only 5 MW of solar energy was installed in China that year, however, as most of the manufactured photovoltaic cells were sold to European countries, with Germany being the largest buyer.
[21]: 144 Academic Lan Xiaohuan writes that Shi's wealth following the listing "acted as a strong demonstration effect and local governments across China soon began to invest in the solar industry.
These feed-in tariffs were extremely successful at expanding China's solar power sector, largely exceeding the Chinese government's expectations for growth.
[27] Chinese PV manufacturers, which were already running at full capacity, faced a difficult situation in 2011 and 2012 with huge financial losses that led to the bankruptcy of some important companies, such as Suntech Power in 2013 which defaulted on $541 million of convertible bonds.
[5][41] At the Climate Ambition Summit in 2020, Xi Jinping announced that China planned to have 1,200 GW of solar and wind energy capacity by 2030.
Built by Power Construction Corporation of China, this plant produces around 6.09 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity annually.
[45]: 119 China plans to reduce subsidies for renewable energy projects after a surge in solar and wind power capacity.
[46] A July 2019 report found that local air pollution (black carbon and sulfur dioxide) has decreased the available solar energy that can be harnessed today by up to 15% compared to the 1960s.
They include CHINT Group Corporation, JA Solar Holdings, Jinniu Energy, Suntech Power, Yingli, China Sunergy and Hanwha SolarOne.
[72] Practical limitations for deployment of CSP include mountainous terrain and distance from energy load centers, mostly concentrated in the east.
[74] Chinese industry has gained considerable experience in the molten-salt storage technology and operating results of the plants are promising and meet their design parameters.
However, several provinces including Gansu, Qinghai, Xinjian UAR and Jilin have announced CSP projects in the context of the storage and peak shaving legislation.
[3] As other countries from around the world look to switch to renewable energy sources, cheap options for solar and wind have become focal points of interest for investments.
The National Development and Reform Commission offered same-priced subsidies to potential solar power project operators nationwide.
Other subsidies, such as Top Runner and Poverty Alleviation programs, were used in conjunction with feed-in tariffs to help grow the solar power market immensely.
With the auction-based system, companies are to submit subsidies bids for solar power construction projects to the National Energy Administration.
[13] Chinese green energy companies such as Luoyang Zhonggui High-Technology Co. in Henan have become large producers of polysilicon in response to growing the demand for solar cells.
Chinese green energy companies have not invested in recycling this byproduct, instead opting to lower production costs and dump waste into nearby residential areas.
This lack of investment into environmental safety protocols has also been attributed to Chinese factories attempting to open much sooner than it would take normally.
The factory had previously failed pollution tests in April and that its waste control was inadequate despite warnings from the local environmental protection bureau.
Renewable energy projects, such as solar power plants, have been built in western regions of China where many native nomadic people have had their land taken away.
[95] The high amount of government incentives has encouraged the mass development of solar projects, especially in the northern and western regions of China.
Critics have used solar power curtailment as an example to argue for China to change its methods for dealing with the climate crisis as they see that its current efforts are ineffective.
Reports of large Chinese solar manufacturing companies using forced labor from Uyghurs of Xinjiang to produce photovoltaic cells have appeared.
[15][99] In June 2021, the United States Department of Commerce placed five Chinese solar companies, including Daqo New Energy, on the Bureau of Industry and Security's Entity List.
The survey indicated Customs taking a strong enforcement approach that will be difficult to answer for small/medium-sized solar companies without stable supply chains.
