On February 28th, during the Photovoltaic Industry Development Review for 2023 and the Outlook for 2024 seminar hosted by the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA), Wang Bohua, the honorary chairman of CPIA, stated that the output value of the domestic photovoltaic manufacturing industry (excluding inverters) exceeded 1.75 trillion yuan in 2023, with a year-on-year growth of 17.1%, setting a new historical high for each segment of the manufacturing side.
However, the large-scale expansion of the photovoltaic industry has also led to a temporary and structural "over-supply," causing a continuous decline in the prices along the industrial chain and a decrease in the profit levels of enterprises.
The China Photovoltaic Industry Association indicated that this year, it will strengthen capacity monitoring, explore the establishment of a photovoltaic price index, organize exchange meetings between central state-owned enterprises and private enterprises, and discuss the formation of a more reasonable pricing mechanism for bidding.
Strengthening photovoltaic capacity monitoring
China's photovoltaic industry has accelerated its technological innovation and upgrade, and the scale and innovative applications of the industry continue to grow. In 2023, the output value of the domestic photovoltaic manufacturing industry (excluding inverters) exceeded 1.75 trillion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 17.1%. In manufacturing, the production volume of each segment reached a historical high, with a growth rate of over 64%. A production of 1.43 million tons of polysilicon, 622GW of silicon wafers, 545GW of cells, and 499GW of modules was achieved.
In terms of exports, thanks to the continuous expansion of overseas markets, China's photovoltaic product exports have maintained rapid growth, with an increase of 47% over the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, but due to the decline in prices, the total export value slightly decreased. On the application side, new models and formats of photovoltaic development have emerged rapidly, with a significant increase in centralized photovoltaic, and new installations exceeding 110GW.
In response to the overcapacity issue that has attracted much attention within the industry, Wang Bohua stated at the seminar that this year, the photovoltaic association will strengthen photovoltaic capacity monitoring, explore the establishment of a photovoltaic price index, organize exchange meetings between central state-owned enterprises and private enterprises, and discuss the establishment of a more reasonable bidding price formation mechanism. Additionally, it will assist relevant departments in revising the regulatory conditions for the photovoltaic manufacturing industry.
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: Strengthening industrial planning guidance
In the past two years, the large-scale expansion of the photovoltaic industry has caused a temporary and structural "over-supply," leading to a continuous decline in prices along the industrial chain, a decrease in corporate profitability, and pressure on performance. Moreover, the international situation facing the photovoltaic industry remains severe and complex, and factors such as global competition will bring uncertainties to the "going-global" strategy of the photovoltaic industry and products.
Currently, the photovoltaic industry is in a period of temporary adjustment.In 2024, the industry will likely continue to deepen its adjustment trend, and some outdated capacities and products with insufficient competitiveness may be gradually phased out, while capacities with technological advantages will have a more competitive edge.
Jin Lei stated that in the next step, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will strengthen industrial planning and guidance. They will revise and issue a new version of the standard conditions, raise the requirements for various indicators, and at the same time, implement in depth the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Development of the Energy Electronics Industry" to promote the steady and orderly development of the industry.
National Energy Administration: Promote the revision of the "Renewable Energy Law"
The director of the New Energy and Renewable Energy division of the National Energy Administration, Xing Yiteng, stated at this seminar that in 2023, China's photovoltaic industry achieved several outstanding accomplishments: the installation structure was further optimized, with distributed installations accounting for 42%; in terms of industrial technology, the capacities and output of silicon materials, wafers, cells, and modules continued to maintain a leading position, with the technological system innovating and upgrading iteratively.
Faced with the new situation, new tasks, and new requirements of industry development, the National Energy Administration continuously improves development policies and the development environment to promote high-quality industry development. Xing Yiteng said that the revision of the "Renewable Energy Law" is currently listed in the legislative plan as a first-class project by the Standing Committee of the Fourteenth National People's Congress.
At the same time, the National Energy Administration also issued documents such as notifications supporting the development of the photovoltaic power generation industry and regulating land management work, further perfecting industry management. Meanwhile, policies have been introduced to ensure the full coverage of renewable energy green power certificates and to promote the consumption of renewable energy electricity, clearly including distributed photovoltaics within the scope of green power certificate issuance.
Regarding the advancement of large-scale wind and photovoltaic power base construction, at present, most of the projects from the first group have been put into operation, and projects from the second and third groups are actively progressing.
In addition, the National Energy Administration actively carries out pilot assessments of distributed photovoltaic grid connection capacity and enhancement measures to address the issue of limited distributed photovoltaic grid connections.
