13 November 2008

China shows big growth in solar power

China has become the largest photovoltaic industry base in the world, and the solar power generation capacity jumped to 1.1 gigawatts (GW) at the end of 2007, representing 27.5% of the total solar generation in the world, said Rongqiang Cui, executive director of the Chinese Renewable Energy Society.

All of this happened in five or six years, Cui said. In recent years, the photovoltaic industry in China has had an annual growth rate of 300% and jumped to the top of the world the first time last year. In the first half of this year, the photovoltaic industry in China achieved growth of nearly 100% again, and the total capacity in photovoltaic generation could surpass 2 GW by the end of this year, helping to maintain its leading position in the world.

China currently has several hundred enterprises engaged in research and development as well as manufacturing in the photovoltaic industry.

To show its growth, these companies have successfully listed on the stock exchanges of oversea markets, including Suntech Power Holdings Company Limited (NYSE: STP) and LDK Solar Company Limited (NYSE: LDK). Although young in the energy industry, the market value of these companies is equivalent to the sum of all coal industries listed in China, Cui said.