China and the United States will cooperate to promote photovoltaic development

        Even with the withdrawal of the “Paris Agreement” in 2019, the United States was still the second country in the world for new photovoltaic installations that year. Now, the United States is ready to stimulate photovoltaic development in many ways.

        Recently, the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it will spend US$45 million to promote the integration of solar hardware and systems, including the creation of a capital operating organization dedicated to the development of modern power grid control technology.

        This research fund will become an incubator for system integration and hardware, stimulating American photovoltaic practitioners to exert greater potential in the software and hardware of solar power generation, and promote the development of photovoltaics in the United States.

        On December 22, foreign media reported that the U.S. Congress will extend a U.S. federal tax credit (ITC) from the original 2022 to 2024, but the credit ratio will be reduced from the current 26% in 2023. To 22%, large-scale public utility projects and commercial projects will be reduced to 10% in 2024, this move is also to promote the development of photovoltaic in households and industrial and commercial users.

        Earlier, the incoming US President Biden also announced that he would rejoin the Paris Agreement on the first day of his inauguration and would spend US$2 trillion to strengthen the United States’ clean energy infrastructure. Photovoltaics must be the focus.

        The above actions indicate that the United States will vigorously promote the development of renewable energy in the future, especially in the photovoltaic field.

        According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) data, the newly installed photovoltaic capacity in the United States in 2019 was 13.3GW, and it has exceeded 10GW in the first three quarters of 2020. This is still a performance under severe impact by the epidemic, and it is expected to usher in bottoming in 2021. Rebound, reaching 20GW.

        However, the distribution of photovoltaics in the United States is also relatively special. The central part of the United States has long sunshine hours and is very flat, which is very suitable for photovoltaic development, but the land is fertile, so it is mainly used for farming. At present, the area with the highest installed photovoltaic capacity and production capacity in the United States is California. Due to the strict carbon emission plan, this place has become the factory location of many photovoltaic companies, including my country’s Jinko, CLP Photovoltaic, and South Korea’s LG Solar. The competition is fierce, and it is also the region where many photovoltaic technologies are applied first.

        Recently, IHS Markit, a world-renowned business information service provider, predicts that the newly installed photovoltaic capacity in 2021 will reach 158GW. China and the United States will account for about half of this. The annual new installed capacity of the Chinese market during the “14th Five-Year Plan” period is expected to be more than 50GW. Under the stimulation of multiple policies, the United States is estimated to contribute 20GW of new installed capacity. The world will achieve the goal of carbon neutrality at an early date.