China faltering on support for solar power: report - Reuters

Source: Reuters

China faltering on support for solar power: report
Wed Sep 19, 2007 5:14am EDT

By Emma Graham-Harrison

BEIJING (Reuters) - Solar panels could generate over
10 percent of China's power by the middle of the century,
but only if Beijing steps up support for pioneering
generating plants and sets more ambitious targets, a
report said on Wednesday.

Although it is the world's No. 3 producer of photovoltaic
(PV) cells that convert sunlight into electricity, China
sends 90 percent of its output abroad because it is too
expensive for domestic use, according to the report
launched by Greenpeace, the Chinese Renewable Energy
Industry Association (CREIA) and WWF.

High PV cell prices and low power tariffs mean the cells
that do stay in China are mainly used for rural areas,
communications, and in industry, rather than for large
generating plants linked into national grids -- the main
users in other countries and the key to large-scale solar
generation.

-snip-

"In no case has a feed-in tariff, calculated according to
reasonable costs plus reasonable profits, been implemented,
and no PV power system has as yet been permitted by grid
companies to connect," the report said.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSPEK13237220070919