China Announces New Solar Energy Subsidies

China Announces New Solar Energy Subsidies Posted by Adam Sewall in Friday, December 3rd 2010 under: International Solar, Solar Energy Incentives Tags: china, Coal, Kyoto Protocol Late yesterday, China announced a new raft of energy subsidies meant to bolster the country’s growing solar energy sector. As reported by the Associated Press, Beijing will create 13 industry zones and pay up to half the price of equipment for solar power projects, the Finance Ministry said. It said other costs will be covered by a subsidy of 4 to 6 yuan (60 to 90 U.S. cents) per watt of generating capacity. The announcement came toward the end of the first of two weeks’ worth of global talks on climate change being held in Cancun, Mexico. China — along with other large developing countries like India and Brazil — has long resisted enacting mandatory targets for reducing emissions of carbon-dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The U.S., too, has avoided adopting mandatory targets by refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol, the main international framework through which countries negotiate international climate change policy obligations. Thursday’s news today provided a boost to solar energy stocks, especially those companies expected to benefit from the new subsidies. Another interesting tidbit included in the announcement: Beijing is aiming to install at least 1,000 megawatts of solar generating capacity each year through 2020. According to the AP, that’s roughly equal to installing two standard coal-fired power plants per year starting in 2013. That’s a good deal of solar power capacity. And China’s goal of deriving 15 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 is laudable. But, given that the country allegedly installs a new coal-fired plant each week, it’s clear that solar power’s role in China’s energy future will be overshadowed by that of coal. http://www.getsolar.com/blog/china-announces-new-solar-energy-subsidies/14760/