Lower costs insulate photovoltaic market against external shocks

The development of the Chinese photovoltaic power industry will not be restricted by industrial policies launched by other countries, as the cost of photovoltaic power generation has dropped significantly and the industry no longer relies heavily on subsidies, said an industry insider.

"Ten years ago, the average cost of electricity from solar PV in China was 5 to 6 yuan ($0.73 to $0.87) per unit, so PV power plants used to need significant subsidies. When the government made changes to the subsidy policies, the industry fluctuated violently. But that is no longer the case. Today, the cost has fallen sharply to 0.3 to 0.4 yuan per unit of electricity, even lower than the average cost of electricity generated by coal-fired power plants nationwide," said Zhou Dan, chief financial officer of Chengdu-headquartered Tongwei Solar Co Ltd, one of the world's leading manufacturers of monocrystalline and polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules.

He said that the decline in cost came from technological advancements and the systemic advantage formed by the Chinese PV power industry over the past few years.