How China’s solar panel price war could drive renewable energy installations globally
A slump in solar panel prices in China, the world’s largest producer, is expected to stimulate demand globally, particularly in Europe, which is facing an unprecedented energy crisis, according to analysts. “The increasing cost competitiveness of solar power generation, driven by expanded production and upstream cost reduction, will help promote renewable energy across the world,” Shanghai-based brokerage firm BOCI Securities said in a recent report. China makes and supplies more than 80 per cent of the world’s photovoltaic panels, according to the International Energy Agency. The country is set to add at least 570 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar power in the 14th five-year plan period from 2021 to 2025, as it strives to achieve its carbon neutral goal by 2060, when non-fossil fuel sources will account for 80 per cent of its total energy mix. Following an unprecedented energy crisis last year due to the reduction of gas supplies by Russia, the European Union is also expected to diversify away from fossil fuels at a faster pace. The lower prices of solar components in China will further promote the expansion of renewable energy as over half of the solar panels EU impod in 2022 were from China, according to Frank Haugwitz, founder of the Asia Europe Clean Energy (Solar) Advisory.