China's new solar capacity for 2013 to hit 10 GW

BEIJING - China is estimated to have added 10 gigawatts (GW) of installed photovoltaic (PV) power capacity in 2013, including 7 GW from PV power stations and 3 GW from distributed PV power projects, an energy official told Xinhua on Thursday.

Liang Zhipeng, an official with the National Energy Administration (NEA), said China would unveil its 2014 target for solar PV installed capacity this month, and that distributed PV power capacity is likely to account for about 60 percent of next year's new solar capacity target.

NEA figures showed that China's cumulative installed capacity for solar PV power reached 10 GW by the end of October this year. In the first 10 months of 2013, China added 3.5 GW of solar capacity.

Liang said China's new solar capacity has increased rapidly since July of this year, after the country rolled out a slew of supportive measures for the solar power industry.

In July, the State Council, China's cabinet, announced measures to boost the sagging photovoltaic sector, including promoting distributed PV power projects, eliminating outdated capacity and encouraging industrial restructuring and technological progress.

The State Council said new solar power capacity should stay around 10 GW annually between 2013 and 2015, and cumulative PV capacity should exceed 35 GW by the end of 2015.

On August 30, China's top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, decided to provide a subsidy of 0.42 yuan (7 U.S. cents) per kilowatt-hour (KWH) to distributed solar power stations.