Page 200 - 2018 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
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8 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
other countries as well, alleging that Chinese companies power 15,000 homes. Perhaps ironically, the farm floats
have opened production facilities in third countries to atop a flooded area once home to a coal-mining factory.
get around import restrictions (Pham and Rivers). The idea to float solar panels is fast catching-on in an
industry that faces a space problem. “The government
In a report titledThe New Solar System—funded by the won’t allow us to just install panels wherever we want,”
U.S. Department of Energy—Stanford University Scholars says Yao Shaohua, the Deputy Director of the project.
are urging the U.S. government to capitalize on China’s “This lake wouldn’t be used otherwise, so it makes sense”
expertise in forging a “more economically sensible” path (Pham and Rivers). It was an opportunity for China, which
for America’s solar industry, and acknowledge China’s already produces two thirds of the world’s solar panels, to
achievement in the sector. In 2016, China produced boast of its commitment to accelerating investment and
71 percent of the world’s solar modules. By the end of reforms for greater use of renewable energies (Girault).
2015, China had deployed 43,500 megawatts in solar
power, making it the world’s largest installed solar base. These mega projects have become possible, and
According to Anders Hove, Associate Director of Research indeed more common, thanks to the rapidly falling
at the Paulson Institute, China had 34 gigawatts of new costs of solar cells. A very different mix of energies could
solar power installed in 2016 alone, more than double be powering China by 2050, according to the National
what was added in the U.S. China’s Five Year Plan for Energy Administration. It predicts renewables could
the development of solar energy sets a target of 110 supply 86 percent of the country’s energy needs, with
gigawatts solar capacity by 2020. “Renewable energy, solar providing around a third of that. However, at this
including solar, is essential for meeting China’s energy and point there are some very big holes in that little bit of
climate goals and reducing reliance on high-emissions sunshine. Building extra grid capacity for transfer is still
coal, which contributes to both air pollution and climate time-consuming and expensive. This leads to the same
change,” said Hove. Chinese solar panel makers aren’t problem wind power seems to be having: curtailment.
stopping within national boundaries; instead, they are Say a solar farm produces 20 megawatts of electricity
expanding into overseas markets including the U.S. “They but can only find buyers for 15 megawatts. Current solar
have the capital, they have the technology, they have the curtailment rates are as high as 30 percent, and in some
scale,” said Ocean Yuan, CEO of the Oregon-based solar cases significantly higher. That’s an extraordinary and real
panel manufacturer Grape Solar (Song, Scholars). problem for the industry (Baraniuk).
China’s solar energy production more than doubled Another problem the country will have to face before
in 2016. The National Energy Administration reported the 2050 is what to do with all of the old solar panels once
that by the end of the year, China’s solar capacity rose they are replaced. Solar plants only have a life span from
to 77.42 gigawatts, with an additional increase of 34.54 20-30 years. To make matters worse, high temperatures
throughout the year (Simon-Lewis). According to the can accelerate the ageing process. Other negative factors
newest annual report from the International Renewable such as the weight of snow or dust storms could cause
Energy Agency, more than 2.5 million people work in material fatigue on the surface and internal electric
the solar power sector alone in China, compared with circuits, gradually reducing the panel’s power output,
260,000 people in the U.S. (Pham and Rivers). but China doesn’t have a retirement plan for them. This
could lead to a huge amount of waste for a product that
One might suspect that China’s geography would at this point is neither biodegradable nor recyclable. By
lend itself to large solar panels. In 2016, Xinjiang Uygur 2050 these waste panels would add up to 20 million tons,
Autonomous Region, and Shandong and Henan or 2,000 times the weight of the Eiffel Tower. Lu Fang,
Provinces could boast about having the biggest increase Secretary General of the Photovoltaics Division in the
in solar power capacity. The largest solar farm in the world China Renewable Energy Society, claims the country’s
- Longyangxia Dam Solar Park, all 30 square kilometers of cumulative capacity of retired panels would reach up
it - is also located in China (Baranuik). But China’s hottest to 70 gigawatts by 2034. That is three times the scale of
new project is a giant floating solar energy farm located the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydropower
in the eastern province of Anhui. Covering about 100 project, by power production (Chen). The third problem
square miles, it is the largest floating panel facility in the is China stands to lose tens of billions of dollars per year
world. According to Sungrow Power Supply, its floating as the country’s growing solar energy infrastructure
solar farm has the capacity to produce enough energy to collides with its toxic air pollution, the researchers said.
200
other countries as well, alleging that Chinese companies power 15,000 homes. Perhaps ironically, the farm floats
have opened production facilities in third countries to atop a flooded area once home to a coal-mining factory.
get around import restrictions (Pham and Rivers). The idea to float solar panels is fast catching-on in an
industry that faces a space problem. “The government
In a report titledThe New Solar System—funded by the won’t allow us to just install panels wherever we want,”
U.S. Department of Energy—Stanford University Scholars says Yao Shaohua, the Deputy Director of the project.
are urging the U.S. government to capitalize on China’s “This lake wouldn’t be used otherwise, so it makes sense”
expertise in forging a “more economically sensible” path (Pham and Rivers). It was an opportunity for China, which
for America’s solar industry, and acknowledge China’s already produces two thirds of the world’s solar panels, to
achievement in the sector. In 2016, China produced boast of its commitment to accelerating investment and
71 percent of the world’s solar modules. By the end of reforms for greater use of renewable energies (Girault).
2015, China had deployed 43,500 megawatts in solar
power, making it the world’s largest installed solar base. These mega projects have become possible, and
According to Anders Hove, Associate Director of Research indeed more common, thanks to the rapidly falling
at the Paulson Institute, China had 34 gigawatts of new costs of solar cells. A very different mix of energies could
solar power installed in 2016 alone, more than double be powering China by 2050, according to the National
what was added in the U.S. China’s Five Year Plan for Energy Administration. It predicts renewables could
the development of solar energy sets a target of 110 supply 86 percent of the country’s energy needs, with
gigawatts solar capacity by 2020. “Renewable energy, solar providing around a third of that. However, at this
including solar, is essential for meeting China’s energy and point there are some very big holes in that little bit of
climate goals and reducing reliance on high-emissions sunshine. Building extra grid capacity for transfer is still
coal, which contributes to both air pollution and climate time-consuming and expensive. This leads to the same
change,” said Hove. Chinese solar panel makers aren’t problem wind power seems to be having: curtailment.
stopping within national boundaries; instead, they are Say a solar farm produces 20 megawatts of electricity
expanding into overseas markets including the U.S. “They but can only find buyers for 15 megawatts. Current solar
have the capital, they have the technology, they have the curtailment rates are as high as 30 percent, and in some
scale,” said Ocean Yuan, CEO of the Oregon-based solar cases significantly higher. That’s an extraordinary and real
panel manufacturer Grape Solar (Song, Scholars). problem for the industry (Baraniuk).
China’s solar energy production more than doubled Another problem the country will have to face before
in 2016. The National Energy Administration reported the 2050 is what to do with all of the old solar panels once
that by the end of the year, China’s solar capacity rose they are replaced. Solar plants only have a life span from
to 77.42 gigawatts, with an additional increase of 34.54 20-30 years. To make matters worse, high temperatures
throughout the year (Simon-Lewis). According to the can accelerate the ageing process. Other negative factors
newest annual report from the International Renewable such as the weight of snow or dust storms could cause
Energy Agency, more than 2.5 million people work in material fatigue on the surface and internal electric
the solar power sector alone in China, compared with circuits, gradually reducing the panel’s power output,
260,000 people in the U.S. (Pham and Rivers). but China doesn’t have a retirement plan for them. This
could lead to a huge amount of waste for a product that
One might suspect that China’s geography would at this point is neither biodegradable nor recyclable. By
lend itself to large solar panels. In 2016, Xinjiang Uygur 2050 these waste panels would add up to 20 million tons,
Autonomous Region, and Shandong and Henan or 2,000 times the weight of the Eiffel Tower. Lu Fang,
Provinces could boast about having the biggest increase Secretary General of the Photovoltaics Division in the
in solar power capacity. The largest solar farm in the world China Renewable Energy Society, claims the country’s
- Longyangxia Dam Solar Park, all 30 square kilometers of cumulative capacity of retired panels would reach up
it - is also located in China (Baranuik). But China’s hottest to 70 gigawatts by 2034. That is three times the scale of
new project is a giant floating solar energy farm located the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydropower
in the eastern province of Anhui. Covering about 100 project, by power production (Chen). The third problem
square miles, it is the largest floating panel facility in the is China stands to lose tens of billions of dollars per year
world. According to Sungrow Power Supply, its floating as the country’s growing solar energy infrastructure
solar farm has the capacity to produce enough energy to collides with its toxic air pollution, the researchers said.
200
