China’s solar intentions are nothing short of world dominance – industrial hegemony in manufacturing, distribution and generation.
This seems evident on a number of levels as the nation’s planned economy and entrepreneurial spirit appear aimed at the same target.
From polysilicon manufacturing to solar farm installation, China wants to be the world's full-service solar store
Domestically numerous solar projects are being unveiled by one corporate subsidy or another. The internal Chinese solar market is expected to increase as much as six fold in 2010 to as much as 1.5 GW from 250 MW this year, according to an estimate from FBR Capital Markets. (It was only 70 MW in 2008.)
Government officials have recently approved 294 solar projects at a cost of $2.9 billion over several years. More are on the way. In total, they add up so far to 642 MW, only a sliver of the country’s projected annual production capacity of 4.5 GW.
That means looking abroad, even while construction at home is running at full steam.
This was evident in Tuesday’s announcement from GCL-Poly that it accepted a $710 million investment from a subsidiary of the state-owned China Investment Corp. According to FBR, GCL-Poly has already hired a San Francisco team eager to build farms in the United States.
In its sights are 300 MW of projects in the U.S. and Europe for potential investment, says FBR.
The challenge at least internally for Chinese companies is that domestic contracts have slim margins. Feed-in tariffs are low in China and government subsidies cover only about 50 percent of construction. This suggests money will need to be made abroad to fuel the industry.
Perhaps that is why the expansion fuse is burning so quickly.
Jean-Baptiste Su
Mark Boslet
chiahwu
January 1, 2010 at 3:16 pm |
Did you come across that article by Rick Johnston last month? He covers this.
January 1, 2010 at 4:34 pm |
Didn’t know of Rick Johnston, but just tracked him down. Thanks for steering me in his direction. Interesting to see the most recent U.S. trade action against China regarding steel dumping. Protectionism on the rise and with good reason.
January 1, 2010 at 4:46 pm |
There was a really good conversation on this subject over at the Forum just last week. I like it when folks can agree to disagree.
January 13, 2010 at 7:15 pm |
Is there something screwy with the posting button, this is the third time Ive tried to post. I give up if this doesnt work.,
January 13, 2010 at 11:34 pm |
Sorry you’ve had difficulty posting a comment. I see three of your comments on this post. Were there others that didn’t make it online?
I agree with you. This is an interesting and complex topic, suggesting that people can disagree. Some say America will benefit from lower prices. I saw lower prices are a short term benefit. Fewer jobs is the long term drawback.