(Economic Observation) From "the darkest moment" to "unlimited scenery", China's photovoltaics have changed in ten years

　　China News Agency, Beijing, August 11th: From "the darkest hour" to "unlimited scenery", China's photovoltaics have changed in ten years

　　Author Liu Wenwen

　　With the continuous innovation and breakthrough of technology, China's photovoltaic industry has been making great strides and developing rapidly in the past ten years.

　　Statistics from China's National Energy Administration show that in the first half of this year, the country's newly installed photovoltaic power generation capacity was 30.88 million kilowatts.

As of the end of June, the cumulative installed capacity of photovoltaic power generation was 336 million kilowatts.

China's photovoltaic industry has occupied a leading position in the world.

　　However, China's photovoltaic industry is not "unlimited" from the beginning.

　　In 2012, under the severe impact of the "dual-reverse" policies (anti-dumping and anti-subsidy) of European and American countries, China's photovoltaic industry was at risk: because raw materials, markets and core technologies were all controlled by others, the industry was in the "darkest moment".

　　Facts have proved that in order not to be "stuck in the neck" by others, we must grasp the "life gate" of core technologies and industrial chains and supply chains.

As a result, China's photovoltaic industry has embarked on a long and difficult road.

　　On the one hand, the government has introduced relevant industrial policies, from capital to market, from finance and taxation to land, quickly creating a policy environment conducive to the development of domestic industries.

In the following years, policies such as kWh subsidy, frontrunner plan, household photovoltaics, green certificate trading and other policies have appeared successively, paving the way for the development and growth of the photovoltaic industry.

　　On the other hand, Chinese photovoltaic companies have set off a wave of technological innovation.

LONGi, Jinko, Tongwei, GCL and other enterprises have continued to increase investment in scientific research and technological innovation.

Manufacturing enterprises in various supporting links have also sprung up.

　　In just a few years, the entire PV industry chain has achieved rapid development.

　　Taking the string welding machine for component end equipment as an example, before 2013, foreign equipment manufacturers occupied the absolute market share of the domestic solar cell string welding equipment industry.

But a few years later, the market landscape is very different.

Under the challenge of a number of domestic stringer companies such as Autowei and Pioneer Intelligence, 95% of stringers in the new production lines in the Chinese market have become domestic equipment.

Up to now, the former industry leaders such as Komax in the United States, NPC in Japan, and Toyama have withdrawn from the stringer market due to high product prices.

　　In terms of special equipment for production lines, from silicon material production, silicon wafer processing, cell and module production, to photovoltaic industry chain-related testing equipment, simulators, etc., China already has the ability to supply complete sets.

　　At the same time, Chinese photovoltaic companies continue to drive the industry to reduce costs and increase efficiency through technological innovation.

　　Take LONGi, a leading global photovoltaic enterprise, as an example. In 2014, LONGi took the lead in overcoming the industrialization problem of RCZ single crystal growth technology, increasing the output of silicon rods from 60 kg per crucible to over 1500 kg per crucible.

This has rapidly narrowed the huge cost gap between mono and poly, saving about 13.6 billion yuan in costs for China's photovoltaic industry in 2020 alone.

　　In addition, another key technology related to the future of single crystal, diamond wire cutting technology, has also taken the lead in realizing localization in LONGi, breaking the monopoly of overseas manufacturers on diamond wire technology, and quickly reducing the supply price of diamond wire to 0.3 per meter. About RMB 30 billion in cost savings for the industry every year.

　　Relying on the advantages brought by technological iteration, the efficiency of China's photovoltaic industry has continued to rise, and the cost has dropped again and again, gradually realizing a historic leap from the era of subsidies to the era of parity.

　　In 2020, China put forward the "dual carbon" goal, as a clean energy, photovoltaics entered a new era of historical development.

Since then, the state has intensively introduced a number of new policies to establish the strategic goal of transforming wind power and photovoltaics into major energy sources.

　　Qin Haiyan, secretary-general of the Wind Energy Professional Committee of the China Renewable Energy Society, said: "China's wind power, photovoltaic power generation and other renewable energy industries continue to develop in a sustainable and healthy way, and will become a global leader in addressing climate change, promoting global energy transition, and building a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system. important support.”

　　From "being controlled by others" to leading the world, from "the darkest moment" to "unlimited scenery", from policy subsidies to cost reduction and efficiency enhancement, China's photovoltaic industry has undergone tremendous changes in the past ten years.

　　According to the statistics of China Photovoltaic Industry Association, China's photovoltaic module production has ranked first in the world for 15 consecutive years, polysilicon production has ranked first in the world for 11 consecutive years, newly installed capacity has ranked first in the world for 9 consecutive years, and cumulative installed capacity has ranked first in the world for 7 consecutive years. No. 1 in the world.

　　Looking forward to the future, Zhong Baoshen, vice chairman of China Photovoltaic Industry Association and chairman of LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd., said that in order to maintain the global leading edge of Chinese photovoltaic enterprises, firstly, they should stick to quality first; secondly, they should take advantage of China's complete photovoltaic industry chain , cooperate with partners to accelerate the pace of innovation; thirdly, we must return to the main track of innovation and focus on user experience and product efficiency.

In this process, we pay attention to the close cooperation between upstream and downstream, and actively make up for the shortcomings of the industrial chain.

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