Strong and sustained growth in China's solar power industry is providing many opportunities to foreign businesses in certain sectors over the next five years, according to a new report from China-based materials market research firm CCM.
China is now expecting to reach 70 GW of installed photovoltaic power capacity by 2018, after the National Development and Reform Commission raised targets in May 2014. CCM says China's solar market should grow at least 40% per year over the next five years.
Almost all of this new capacity will be manufactured and installed by Chinese companies, the report says; however, these companies are still dependent on imports for several key materials and technologies, which will provide opportunities for exporters.
According to CCM, materials that are in short supply in China include silver paste, Tedlar film backsheets, ethylene vinyl acetate encapsulant film and slurry material. Although China has made progress in developing large-scale polysilicon production facilities, the report says 40% to 50% of its polysilicon needs are still filled through imports.
Moreover, China is still yet to develop the high-end equipment capable of producing high-purity polysilicon, so manufacturers of hydrogenation furnaces, large-scale casting furnaces, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition coating equipment, automatic screen printing presses and other key technologies could also benefit, the report concludes.
CCM's upcoming report, ‘China Renewable Energy Market and Future Prospects,’ will be published later this month.