Solar power generation investment is booming, with a year-on-year increase of 199.9% in the first two months
The National Energy Administration released statistical data on the national power industry from January to February, showing that from January to February, major power generation enterprises in China completed investment of 67.6 billion yuan in power engineering, a year-on-year increase of 43.6%. Among them, nuclear power reached 8.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 44.8%; Solar power generation reached 28.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 199.9%.
As of the end of February, the cumulative installed power generation capacity in China was about 2.6 billion kilowatts, an increase of 8.5% year-on-year. Among them, the installed capacity of wind power is about 370 million kilowatts, an increase of 11.0% year-on-year; The installed capacity of solar power generation is about 410 million kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 30.8%.
Developing new energy is an inevitable choice to accelerate the construction of a new energy system and achieve sustainable development in the future. At present, China has a relatively complete new energy industry chain system, and wind power and photovoltaic power generation have entered a new stage of affordable, subsidized, and market-oriented development.
According to data from the National Energy Administration, in 2022, the newly installed capacity of wind and photovoltaic power in China exceeded 120 million kilowatts, reaching 125 million kilowatts, surpassing 100 million kilowatts for three consecutive years. As of the end of 2022, the installed capacity of renewable energy has exceeded 1.2 billion kilowatts, reaching 1.213 billion kilowatts, accounting for 47.3% of the total installed capacity of power generation in China, an increase of 2.5 percentage points compared to 2021. Among them, the installed capacity of wind power is 365 million kilowatts, solar power is 393 million kilowatts, biomass power is 41 million kilowatts, conventional hydropower is 368 million kilowatts, and pumped storage is 45 million kilowatts.
According to the plan of the National Energy Administration, the installed capacity of wind power will reach around 430 million kilowatts and solar power generation will reach around 490 million kilowatts in 2023.
Wang Dapeng, Deputy Director of the New and Renewable Energy Department of the National Energy Administration, previously stated at a press conference that 2023 will vigorously promote major renewable energy projects around building a new energy system. The first batch of large-scale wind and photovoltaic base projects were connected to the grid and put into operation, while the second and third batches of base projects began to commence. The construction of offshore wind power bases was steadily and orderly promoted. At the same time, we need to promote the construction of decentralized onshore wind power and distributed photovoltaic power generation projects. Organize and optimize the layout of pumped storage energy, and promote the sound and rapid development of pumped storage energy.
Wang Bohua, Honorary Chairman of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, predicts that in 2023, the conservative forecast for the new installed capacity of photovoltaics in China is 95 gigawatts, while the optimistic forecast is 120 gigawatts.
However, there are still many problems with photovoltaic power generation in China. It is revealed that the National Energy Administration, together with the Ministry of Natural Resources and other departments, will study and promote the introduction of policies for photovoltaic land use, forest use, grass use, and sea use, providing strong land element protection for the development of the industry. At the same time, we will work with relevant parties to study and optimize the operation mechanism of energy storage scheduling, focusing on solving the problem of "building without adjustment". In addition, the current trend is for new energy to participate in the electricity market. The National Energy Administration will also work with and cooperate with relevant parties to study the electricity market mechanism that adapts to the characteristics of new energy and stabilize investment expectations.