Solar's bright future in powering rural areas

Figures released by the renewable energy center of the National Development and Reform Commission's energy research institute show that China's newly added distributed photovoltaic capacity reached 96.29 gigawatts last year, marking an 88 percent year-on-year growth. The cumulative installed capacity of distributed photovoltaics stands at 253 gigawatts so far, constituting 42 percent of the total installed capacity of photovoltaics in the country, it said.

Distributed solar power and utility solar power are two major types of solar power in China. The former refers to an approach to installing solar power facilities and generating power at or near where it will be used, such as on rooftops, and has become a major force driving installed capacity growth. It also has fewer requirements on land and cost, compared with utility solar power, which is usually deployed in massive land areas such as deserts.

As a result, numerous photovoltaic enterprises, including Longi, JA Solar Technology, Jinko Solar Co and Sungrow Power Supply Co, are launching residential photovoltaic products, while State-owned enterprises and local government enterprises, which have traditionally been enthusiastic investors in centralized photovoltaic power stations, have also joined in.

Longi said it has been teaming up with numerous State-owned enterprises, including China Energy Investment Corp and State Power Investment Corp, to jointly tap residential photovoltaic products and expand their rural use.

According to the National Energy Administration, the growth of distributed solar power's installed capacity surpassed that of utility solar power for the first time in 2021, making up about 55 percent of China's total newly increased solar power installed capacity. This trend means that distributed solar power, especially for family use, has become an important source in China's efforts to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.

In addition to reducing fees for self-consumed renewable energy and encouraging high-scale utilization of new energy sources, Zhong also suggested expanding the deployment of building-integrated photovoltaics, or BIPV, one of the two main types of rooftop solar power in addition to building-attached photovoltaics.

China's surge in rooftop solar power installations has driven up the world's total rooftop solar capacity. According to the China BIPV Association, BIPV, which takes up a major part of China's rooftop solar power market, will have a market size valued at up to 40 billion yuan ($5.55 billion) in 2025.

China plans to cover as many as half of its new buildings that are classified as public institutions with rooftop solar panels by 2025, according to a statement jointly released by the NDRC and the NEA, which also noted that China will actively promote rooftop solar power installation in rural areas and industrial parks.