What is the market prospect of photovoltaic industry?

1. What is photovoltaic?
2. Development status of photovoltaic industry
   1. Installed capacity of photovoltaic power generation
   2. Types of photovoltaic installations
   3. Photovoltaic power generation
   4. The proportion of production capacity of photovoltaic segmented products
   5. Output of photovoltaic products
   6. Industry competition pattern
3. Development prospects of the photovoltaic industry
   1. The world’s energy consumption is transformed to new energy
   2. Technological progress promotes cost reduction and increases market demand

In recent years, with the widespread spread of environmental awareness, photovoltaics may develop into a renewable energy source. Driven by the dual drive of coping with the energy crisis and strengthening environmental protection, the photovoltaic industry has received strong support from other countries, showing a trend of rapid upward development as a whole.

1. What is photovoltaic?

Photovoltaic is the abbreviation of solar photovoltaic power generation system. It is a new type of power generation system that uses the photovoltaic effect of solar cell semiconductor materials to directly convert solar radiation energy into electrical energy. There are two modes of independent operation and grid-connected operation.

The classification of solar photovoltaic power generation systems, one is centralized, such as large-scale northwest ground photovoltaic power generation systems; the other is distributed (with >6MW as the boundary), such as industrial and commercial enterprise plant roof photovoltaic power generation systems, residential rooftop photovoltaic power generation systems.

The upstream of the photovoltaic industry chain includes the smelting, ingot casting, rod drawing, and slicing of single or polycrystalline silicon, the midstream includes solar cell production, photovoltaic power generation module packaging and other links, and the downstream includes the installation and service of photovoltaic application systems. China’s photovoltaic industry chain is complete, and its manufacturing capacity and market share rank first in the world.

2. Development status of photovoltaic industry

China attaches great importance to energy security and sustainable development. With the continuous advancement of photovoltaic power generation technology and the continuous reduction of costs, photovoltaic power generation has become one of the main renewable energy sources.

The photovoltaic industry has become one of the strategic emerging industries with competitive advantages in China. The main policy measures of China’s photovoltaic industry are as follows:

① Installed capacity of photovoltaic power generation

China has gradually developed into one of the most important solar photovoltaic application markets in the world. As an important part of renewable energy, solar energy has many advantages and is the main trend of China’s future new energy development.

The future development space of China’s solar photovoltaic market is broad. The data shows that the installed capacity of photovoltaic power generation in China will increase from 77.42 million kilowatts in 2016 to 306.56 million kilowatts in 2021, with an average annual compound growth rate of 34%. In the first half of 2022, China’s installed solar power generation capacity was 336.77 million kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 25.8%.

In 2021, China’s newly installed photovoltaic power generation capacity will reach 54.93 million kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 14%. In the first half of 2022, China’s newly installed photovoltaic power generation capacity will be 30.88 million kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 17.87 million kilowatts, of which photovoltaic power plants are 11.23 million kilowatts and distributed. Photovoltaic 19.65 million kilowatts.

② Types of photovoltaic installations

In the first half of 2022, the types of installed photovoltaic capacity in China mainly include industrial and commercial, centralized and household use. Among them, the installed capacity of photovoltaics for industrial and commercial use accounted for the largest proportion, reaching 47.8%.

The installed capacity of centralized photovoltaics accounted for 32.9%, and the installed capacity of household photovoltaics accounted for 32.9%. Capacity accounted for 19.3%.

③ Photovoltaic power generation

With the continuous popularization of photovoltaic power generation, the installed capacity continues to increase, and the photovoltaic power generation is also increasing. In 2021, China’s photovoltaic power generation will be 325.9 billion kWh, a year-on-year increase of 25.1%. In the first quarter of 2022, China’s photovoltaic power generation will be 84.1 billion kWh, a year-on-year increase of 22.2%.

4. The proportion of production capacity of photovoltaic segmented products

Relying on the advantages of crystalline silicon technology and cost control, the production capacity and output of all aspects of China’s photovoltaic industry have achieved varying degrees of growth in the world, and the focus of the world’s photovoltaic industry has further shifted to China.

The photovoltaic industry has become a strategic emerging industry in China that has reached the world’s leading level. The world’s photovoltaic product capacity, output and the global proportion of Chinese products are as follows:

5. Output of photovoltaic products

•  Production of polysilicon wafers

With the acceleration of the localization of silicon materials, China has gradually gotten rid of the controlled situation of raw materials. In recent years, China’s polysilicon production has continued to grow. Data show that in the first half of 2022, polysilicon production was about 365,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 53.4%.

•  Silicon wafer output

Silicon wafers are the carrier of solar cells. The rapid development of the photovoltaic installed terminal market has effectively stimulated the demand for raw materials including silicon wafers in the upstream industry. The scale of China’s photovoltaic silicon wafer market has grown rapidly. In the first half of 2022, silicon wafer production was about 152.8GW, a year-on-year increase of 45.5%.

6. Industry competition pattern

There are many market participants in China’s photovoltaic industry, and the market competition pattern is relatively concentrated. According to the operating income in 2021, LONGi, Tongwei, Trina Solar, JA Technology, and TCL Zhonghuan are the top five participants in the photovoltaic industry, with a total operating income of 271.3 billion RMB in 2021. If you want to get the latest list of Chinese most competitive photovoltaic factories, you can read our article of top 10 photovoltaic cell manufacturers in China.

3. Development prospects of the photovoltaic industry

1. The world’s energy consumption is transformed to new energy

At present, the worldwide environmental degradation and resource shortage are restricting the sustainable development of the world. The energy system needs to be transformed. The further development and utilization of renewable energy and the clean and low-carbon development of existing energy will be the basis of energy development.

Among all kinds of renewable energy, solar power generation has the advantages of low requirements on resource conditions, low carbon emissions, and high power generation efficiency. Therefore, the photovoltaic power generation industry has been concerned by other countries since its inception. With the continuous advancement of energy system reform, the photovoltaic power generation industry will develop at a faster speed.

2. Technological progress promotes cost reduction and increases market demand

Since the development of China’s photovoltaic power generation industry, under the guidance of active policies and the continuous efforts of enterprises in the industry, technologies in all aspects of the industry chain have continued to innovate, such as the wide application of diamond wire cutting technology, continuous improvement of PERC cell conversion efficiency, 210mm large-size silicon.

The development of solar panels has continuously promoted the improvement of photovoltaic power generation efficiency and reduced the cost of photovoltaic power generation. In the foreseeable future, it will become more and more obvious that the grid-connected price of photovoltaic power generation is lower than the electricity price of traditional coal-fired units. The lower electricity cost will increase the market demand for photovoltaic power generation and expand the industry space.

Related post