Rooftop projects shine a spotlight on solar power benefits

In January, the National Energy Administration raised the 2014 target for new solar photovoltaic capacity to 14 gigawatts from 12gW previously. It said 67 percent of the new installations would be distributed solar facilities, up from 30 percent in 2013.

Homemade PV power station in Zhejiang

China to build more solar power stations

Ren Haoning, a senior energy analyst at research company CI Consulting, said the target for distributed solar installation is "very high" at 10 times the actual installations in 2013. But if the goal is achieved, it could cut panel inventories in China by 5 percent, based on national production capacity in March. The installation on Inch's building is one of more than 20 solar facilities on residential or commercial rooftops inspected by the southern branch of State Grid Shanghai Municipal Electric Power Co since late last year.

"More rooftop solar plant owners are calling us to connect to the state grid. Our policies and procedures are quite clear. Project owners can connect to the grid and after passing an inspection, they'll get the feed-in tariff and subsidy every three months," a client manager at the company surnamed Chen said.

The National Development and Reform Commission set the FIT at 0.42 yuan last August with a 20-year term. Local governments are also offering incentives for alternative-energy generation. In Shanghai, an announcement on April 4 said that local solar project owners are eligible for subsidies for five years. Individual users will receive 0.4 yuan per kWh, while industrial and commercial customers will get 0.25 yuan per kWh. Industry sources said that the industry is recovering from the impact of a supply glut and trade restrictions in overseas markets.

In China, 24 of the 32 listed solar companies reported a profit for 2013. Eight even doubled their net profit. Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd, the biggest solar panel manufacturer in the world by shipment volume, said it expects to return to a profit for the first time in three years during the second quarter.