page_title: Renewable energy in Asia
section_title: China
hierarchical_section_title: Renewable energy in Asia / Renewable energy by country / China
caption_attribution_description: English: Wind power plants in Xinjiang, China (Taken with a Nikon D70.)中文: 中国新疆的风力发电厂。
context_page_description: For solar power, South Asia has the ideal combination of both high solar insolation and a high density of potential customers.
  Cheap solar can bring electricity to a major chunk of subcontinent's people who still live off-grid, bypassing the need of installation of expensive grid lines. Also since the costs of energy consumed for temperature control squarely influences a regions energy intensity, and with cooling load requirements roughly in phase with the sun's intensity, cooling from intense solar radiation could make perfect energy-economic sense in the subcontinent.
context_section_description: In China there now are six factories producing at least 2 GW/year each of monocrystalline, poly-crystalline and non-crystalline Photovoltaic cells. These factories include the LDK Solar Co, Wuxi Suntech Solar Energy Co., Ltd., which produces approximately 50 MW/year of solar cells and photovoltaic modules; the Yunnan Semi-conductor Parts Plant, which manufactures approximately 2 MW/year of mono-crystalline cells; the Baoding Yingli Solar Energy Modules Plant, which manufactures approximately 6 MW/year of polycrystalline cells and modules; the Shanghai Jiaoda Guofei Solar Energy Battery Factory, which produces approximately 1 MW/year of modules; and the Shanghai PV Science and Technology Co., Ltd., which produces approximately 5 MW/year of modules.
  China has become a world leader in the manufacture of solar photovoltaic technology, with its six biggest solar companies having a combined value of over $15 billion. Around 820 megawatts of solar PV were produced in China in 2007, second only to Japan. Suntech Power Holdings Co based in Jiangsu, is the world's third- biggest supplier of solar cells.
  There are some obstacles to the further development of the Chinese solar energy sector that China faces. These obstacles include the lack of a nationwide comprehensive photovoltaic (PV) plan, the lack of updated facilities and sufficient financial resources to support PV research at research institutes, the lack of sufficient facilities and resources at companies manufacturing PV products, the failure of companies to be able to produce high quality, reliable and low cost PV products and the relatively weak educational and training opportunities in China for PV science and technology.
  About 50 MW of installed solar capacity was added in 2008, more than double the 20 MW in 2007, but still a relatively small amount. According to some studies, the demand in China for new solar modules could be as high as 232 MW each year from now on until  2012. The government has announced plans to expand the installed capacity to 1,800 MW by 2020. If Chinese companies manage to develop low cost, reliable solar modules, then the sky is the limit for a country that is desperate to reduce its dependence on coal and oil imports as well as the pressure on its environment by using renewable energy.
  In 2009 centre to the PRC Government’s plans is the recently announced "Golden Sun" stimulus program. Under this program the Ministry of Finance will subsidize half of the total construction
  costs of an on-grid solar power plant, including transmission expenses. The Ministry of Finance will also pay subsidies of up to 70% to develop independent photovoltaic power generating systems in remote regions. The strong handed move by the Government is meant to encourage more solar projects to increase the current solar power capacity, which at 2008 stood at a paltry 40MW. As the Government targets to increase China’s solar power capacity up to 20GW by 2020, this will provide significant opportunities for solar cell and module manufacturers. Many of the solar industry players therefore will expect for chances to be benefited from the government programs especially the solar cell manufacturers. With the hope of increase in local demand, some of the new developments have been going on with this region, like Anwell Technologies Limited, a Singapore listed company having its solar cell manufacturing plant in China, has produced its first thin film solar panel with its own developed production lines in September 2009.
  According to the speech given by the Chinese President Hu Jintao's at the UN climate summit held on September 22, 2009 in New York, China will intensify effort and adopt ambitious plans to plant enough forest to cover an area the size of Norway and use 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources within a decade.
caption: Wind farm in Xinjiang, China
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