| Solar energy firms told to scout home market¡¡ |
| Last Updated(Beijing Time):2006-02-21 10:30 |
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Chinese solar energy companies are putting too much energy exploring the overseas markets while neglecting the home market, an industry expert warned yesterday.
"In terms of installed capacity, 97.5 percent of the 200-megawatt made-in-China photovoltaic cells and modules were exported last year," Wang Sicheng, an industry expert, told an energy conference yesterday.
Using PV cells to convert solar energy to electricity is one technology. The other is to use thermal radiation from the sun.
New York-listed Suntech Power Holdings Co, Yingli Newenergy Co and other major Chinese solar energy equipment makers have invested heavily in PV production since 2003.
The companies' blueprints called for them to increase production to the equivalent of 2 gigawatts of installed capacity in the near future.
"Two gigawatts are even larger than the world's total scale in 2005, I doubt whether the (domestic) market can digest it," said Wang, who manages Jike Energy New Tech Development Co under the National Development and Reform Commission.
He also warned of the high cost that Chinese companies are paying for silicon, the material used to make PV cells. Currently, 95 percent of silicon demand in the industry are met by imports.
Chinese firms generate 6 billion to 8 billion yuan (US$990 million) in sales of PV cells annually, Wang said.
Wang urges the exploration of the home market, and domestic production of silicon to be boosted in bid to cut imports of the material. The silicon industry has posted an average 30 percent growth globally over the past eight years due to strong demand in Europe
China is using PV and wind to generate power for half of the 13 million population who live in rural areas with no access to electricity currently.
It plans to increase PV capacity to 50 gigawatts, or 2.5 percent of the total electricity production, by 2050, Wang said, citing the China Electric Power Research Institute. |
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