CHINA INTROS F-I-T

Chinese manufacturers winners under China’s FIT
Jonathan Gifford, 6 August 2011 (PV Magazine)

"…[A]nalyst opinion is that the Chinese tier-one manufacturers stand to gain the most [from the government’s newly announced national photovoltaic feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme]…[It will be funded by the Chinese Government’s Renewable Energy Development Fund (REDF) and] will be applied at two rates. The first will be 1.15 Renminbi per kilowatt hour (rmb/kWh) (US$0.18) that will be paid for projects approved before July 1 and completed by the end of the year. The second rate will be one rmb/kWh (US$.156/kWh)…

"…[D]etails of the Chinese FIT scheme [are not certain but] some analysts immediately revised up their predictions for 2011 installed capacity…However, some photovoltaic market analysts offer a word of caution as to the short-term impact of the FIT announcement…[There is a] decided lack of detail as to project volumes and how they will affect the FIT rates…"

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"Where there genuinely appears to be no doubt is that Chinese tier one manufacturers [such as Yingli, JA Solar, Suntech and Trina] are ideally placed to profit from the Chinese FIT…[T]he Chinese FIT rates may seem meager…[but] high sunlight levels in certain parts of the country, low labor costs for installation…cheap or even free land for power plant sites…[and lower-priced] Chinese made modules …[make] investing in Chinese photovoltaic plants [seem] attractive and profitable under the FIT Scheme…

"…[P]redictions for Chinese installations now stand at around 1.3 GW in 2011, rising to 2.5 GW next year and eventually growing to 5 GW to 10 GW in 2015. These middle term progressions span a very wide range…What is certain and many analysts agree on, is that many parts of the photovoltaic industry are watching China closely."