By 2017 China's Wind Energy aaccount for 2.7% of Total Electricity Generation, Reveals New Report

Report  has revised up forecasts for non-hydropower renewable energy in China this quarter. This is due to stronger-than-expected growth in solar capacity in 2013 and new solar capacity targets from the government. Our outlook remains sanguine because the combination of growing energy demand, worsening pollution, and continued support for renewable equipment manufacturers are still driving sector growth over the long-term. We also highlight that a lack of financing poses the main risk to our medium- to long-term outlook, following a period of misallocation of resources and associated build-up of unserviceable debt in the banking system. We have revised up our 2014 forecasts for non-hydropower renewable energy in China this quarter.

We are now forecasting 12.2GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity to be installed in 2014 - up from our previous forecast of 8.5GW - and new wind and biomass installations with a combined total capacity of just under 7GW. Solar energy will maintain its dominance over the medium term as the government continues to support the sector through various policies and regulations. We note that the government is targeting at least 10GW of new solar capacity per year between 2013 and 2015, as implied by its target of 35GW of solar capacity by 2015.

Browse this report:  http://mrr.cm/ZMx

Recent Developments

• The Chinese National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) introduced a number of revisions to the feed-in tariff (FiT) for solar energy on August 30 2013. Some changes include the introduction of a tariff for distributed solar projects, as well as a slight downward revision in the tariff for projects in areas rich in solar resources.
• The Chinese government raised solar capacity targets in July 2013 and now projects 35GW of solar capacity by 2015, up from 21GW previously The original target outlined in the country's 12th Five-Year plan was 5GW.
• In January 2013, Chinese energy chief Liu Tienan announced that China would double its pace of solar installations to install 10GW of solar capacity this year (as reported by the Financial Times).