02 May 2012
The international solar industry will converge at Intersolar China for the second time this year, conference organizers today announced.
This year, around 250 exhibitors are expected to present their latest products and services from the areas of photovoltaics and solar thermal technologies across an exhibition space covering 11,000 square meters. The annual exhibition takes place 12-14 December 2012, at the China National Convention Center (CNCC) in Beijing. The Intersolar China Conference begins the day before, 11 December, and ends 13 December, the second day of the exhibition. Around 500 industry experts from China and around the world are expected to attend the conference at the InterContinental Hotel in Beijing.
Supported by new political conditions and feed-in tariffs, China’s solar market underwent a period of growth in 2011. The amount of new solar power capacity installed more than quadrupled in comparison to the previous year, reaching a total of around 2.5GW. In a worldwide comparison of new PV capacity installed in 2011, China was already in third place behind Italy and Germany. Free-standing installations underwent the greatest growth, with around 80% of the capacity installed. These were followed by commercial roof installations with a share of approximately 17% and grid-independent systems with around 3%
The National Energy Administration has revised its aims on the expansion of photovoltaic installations upwards, as part of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) for National Economic and Social Development approved by the National People’s Congress in March 2011. According to plans made by China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), excellent development possibilities for renewable energy in general and more specifically for photovoltaics are to be expected. The Chinese government aims to install PV plants with a capacity of 15GW in 2015 and plans to have extended this capacity to 50GW by 2020. Successful incentive programs, such as the Golden Sun Program, are set to be continued, and additional initiatives will be introduced on both a national and provincial level. The National Energy Administration has already announced approval for projects with a capacity of 3GW to be implemented this year. In the medium term, China has the potential to become the largest photovoltaics market worldwide, according to Intersolar China organizers.
