SHANGHAI: China pledged further support for its ailing solar power industry as the government seeks to revive a sector struggling with overcapacity and falling prices.
The State Council, China’s cabinet, said in July that the country aimed to more than quadruple solar power generating capacity to 35 gigawatts by 2015 in an apparent bid to ease a glut in the domestic solar power industry.
The State Council, in a statement published on its website, said the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology was taking measures to “promote the healthy development of the photovoltaic industry”.
The ministry, it said, was implementing the July directive by supporting consolidation in the industry, drafting guidelines for mergers and acquisitions and promoting standardisation.
It said the ministry was encouraging technological innovation, especially related to decentralized solar power installations not connected to the power grid. It was also supporting research and development efforts for batteries that can store solar electricity.
The ministry sought to improve standardisation and ensure “orderly competition” in the industry, the statement said.
The State Council said the solar industry had enjoyed a recovery in 2013. Total installed solar power generating capacity increased by around 8GW, of which 6GW were in power plants and 2GW were in decentralised installations, the statement said, citing preliminary estimates from the China Photovoltaic Industry Alliance.
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