Solar photovoltaic power generation investment is booming

On March 21st, the National Energy Administration released statistical data on the national power industry from January to February, showing that major power generation enterprises in China completed an investment of 67.6 billion yuan in power engineering from January to February, a year-on-year increase of 43.6%. Among them, nuclear power reached 8.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 44.8%; Solar photovoltaic power generation reached 28.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 199.9%.

As of the end of February, the cumulative installed power generation capacity in China was about 2.6 billion kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 8.5%. Among them, the installed capacity of wind power is about 370 million kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 11.0%; The installed capacity of solar photovoltaic power generation is about 410 million kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 30.8%.

Developing new energy is an inevitable choice to accelerate the construction of a new energy system and achieve sustainable development in the future. At present, China has a relatively complete new energy industry chain system, and wind and photovoltaic power generation have entered a new stage of affordable, subsidized, and market-oriented development.

According to data from the National Energy Administration, in 2022, the newly installed capacity of wind and photovoltaic power in China exceeded 120 million kilowatts, reaching 125 million kilowatts, and has exceeded 100 million kilowatts for three consecutive years. As of the end of 2022, the installed capacity of renewable energy has exceeded 1.2 billion kilowatts, reaching 1.213 billion kilowatts, accounting for 47.3% of the total installed capacity of power generation in China, an increase of 2.5 percentage points from 2021. Among them, wind power installed capacity is 365 million kilowatts, solar photovoltaic power generation is 393 million kilowatts, biomass power generation is 41 million kilowatts, conventional hydropower is 368 million kilowatts, and pumped storage energy is 45 million kilowatts.

According to the plan of the National Energy Administration, the installed capacity of wind power will reach about 430 million kilowatts and the installed capacity of solar photovoltaic power generation will reach about 490 million kilowatts in 2023.

Wang Dapeng, Deputy Director of the New Energy and Renewable Energy Department of the National Energy Administration, previously stated at a press conference that 2023 will focus on building a new energy system and vigorously promote major renewable energy projects. The first batch of large-scale wind and photovoltaic base projects were connected to the grid and put into operation, while the second and third batches of base projects began one after another. The construction of offshore wind power bases is steadily and orderly progressing. At the same time, we need to promote the construction of decentralized onshore wind power and distributed photovoltaic power generation projects. Organize the optimization of pumped storage layout and promote the good and fast development of pumped storage.

Wang Bohua, Honorary Chairman of the China Solar Photovoltaic Industry Association, predicts that in 2023, the conservative forecast for the new installed capacity of solar photovoltaics in China is 95 gigawatts, while the optimistic forecast is 120 gigawatts.

However, there are still many problems with solar photovoltaic power generation in China at present. It is reported that the National Energy Administration, together with the Ministry of Natural Resources and other departments, will study and promote the introduction of policies for solar photovoltaic land use, forest use, grass use, and sea use, providing strong land factor guarantees for the development of the industry. At the same time, we will collaborate with relevant parties to study and optimize the operation mechanism of energy storage scheduling, focusing on solving the problem of “building but not adjusting”. In addition, the current trend is for new energy to participate in the electricity market. The National Energy Administration will also work together and cooperate with relevant parties to study electricity market mechanisms that adapt to the characteristics of new energy and stabilize investment expectations.

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