In Fact: China's global solar revolution

To avoid a global climate catastrophe we need to triple the amount of global renewable energy by 2030. About half of this is expected to come from solar. And, since 2006, the solar panels China has produced account for 70-80 percent of the total, global GW of the installed capacity today. But China is also getting the most pushback from the U.S. and Europe. What's happening here? Why is China leading and why, given the crisis we are in, do some see that as a problem?

In Fact with Kyle Obermann, a groundbreaking series from CGTN, delves into one of the world's most debated environmental topics: China's environmental record and its global impact.

About the host:

Kyle Obermann is an environmental photographer, filmmaker, writer, and athlete who focuses on Asia's high mountain regions. Fluent in Mandarin, with seven years of experience living and working in China, Kyle has received numerous honors, including becoming a two-time winner of China's Wildlife Image and Video Competition. He has spoken at TEDx, served as a jury member for China's annual Outdoor Environmental Awards, and been recognized as a National Geographic Expert. Kyle is a member of the International League of Conservation Photographers, the Explorers Club, ICIMOD's Save Our Snow Campaign, and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
My name is Kyle Oberman and I'm an environmental
writer, researcher andphotographer.
Welcome to In Fact, where weuse peer-reviewed sources,
official data and expertinterviews to untangle the
misconceptions and myths fromthe realities of China's
environmental record and findout what it means for the world.

(00:22):
Third episode China's solarrevolution.
To avoid a global climatecatastrophe, we need to triple
the amount of global renewableenergy by 2030.
About half of this is expectedto come from solar and since
2006, the solar panels China hasproduced account for 70 to 80
percent of the total globalgigawatts of installed capacity

(00:45):
today.
But China is also getting themost pushback from the US and
Europe.
So what is happening here?
Why is China leading and why,given the crisis that we are in,
do some see that as a problem?

(01:12):
China leads the global solarsupply chain.
The top 10 suppliers of solarmanufacturing equipment are also
Chinese companies.
Almost all of the world'ssilicon wafers the most
important part of solar panelscome from China.
This means that China has avast superiority when

(01:34):
manufacturing solar at scalethan cost.
So Chinese panels are 35 to 50%cheaper than those made in
Europe and the quality iscomparable, sometimes even
better.
This has its roots in the 90sand early 2000s, with China's
privatization of industry andWTO admittance.
These events triggered Chineseexports to become more cost
competitive and European nationslike Germany to invest by
bringing entire production linesinto the country.

(01:55):
And in 2005, china passed itsRenewable Energy Act, which
mandated the purchase ofrenewable energy and connection
to the grid.
Five years later, thegovernment elevated solar to the
status of strategic necessityand began to channel subsidies,
as its western neighbors had,into the industry.
Fast forward to today and inthe first half of 2023 alone,

(02:18):
china's solar exports surpassedthe total installed capacity of
the US.
Half of these exports went toEurope and almost all of
Europe's newly installed solarcame from China.
And last year, the EU installedrecord levels of solar capacity
, 40% more than in 2022.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
It would have been very difficult to get to this
level today without China, thatis for sure.
Even the drop in manufacturingcosts that we are seeing outside
of China, be it in the US orEurope, is also largely driven
by China and Chinese sort ofdevelopments within different PV
technology.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
So the supply from China has been a boon for
households and other power userslooking to turn away from
fossil fuels at a low cost.
It's also increased jobs.
European solar employment roseby 24% last year, mainly due to
installation demand.
But the supply and cost ofChinese solar in Europe has also
led to pushback from someEuropean governments and

(03:15):
businesses who feel like theycan't keep up.

Speaker 2 (03:18):
For European manufacturers, it's impossible
to compete with the cost ofproduction.

Speaker 1 (03:24):
As for their Chinese counterparts, there's just no
way but the EU hopes to changethis, aiming to raise the
percentage of solar manufacturedin Europe from the 3% it is
today to 40% by 2030.
And the price differencebetween China and European
panels have reached its peak.
But the 12 billion euros infunding provided by the EU's Net

(03:44):
Zero Industry Act still lagsbehind the amounts provided by
the US and China.
This also has many in the EUworried for one big reason
energy security.
It's an issue that worriedEurope in the last half century
and pushed the continent toadopt solar earlier than anyone
else, and the war in Ukraine hasreminded Europe just how
vulnerable it is to globalshifts or conflict.

(04:06):
So while many households getcheaper clean energy and the
solar jobs market continues togrow, the current market
concerns leaders and industryexperts in Europe.

Speaker 3 (04:17):
And there's a severe competition between the Chinese
manufacturers.
So and all of them need to sellsomething to have cash, even if
they sell with losses.
But in the long run an industryneed to be sustainably and make
money, otherwise we will havethese kind of bubbles and they

(04:37):
burst and everything is delayed,etc.

Speaker 1 (04:41):
Dr Lindahl and Marius agree we are entering a
consolidation phase in the solarindustry, which will see global
manufacturers out of business,but on the flip side, the fierce
competition that got us herehas also accelerated innovation.
Chinese companies lead theworld in solar technology
patents, holding over twice theamount of any other country.
And when it comes toovercapacity, a peer-reviewed

(05:03):
study released a few years agoeven argued that, given the
intermittency of sunshine,overcapacity by a factor of
three was critical for makingsolar actually work.
But limited grid capacity inEurope, combined with high
interest rates that discourageinvestment, are leading to a
surplus of Chinese solar panelsstockpiled around the world,
especially in Europe.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
Getting connected to the grid if you're a utility
scale developer, now isdifficult.
So if you're now in Europe, youmight have to wait years to get
your project approved throughpermitting until it's actually
connected to the grid.
So Europe is in a bind.

Speaker 1 (05:37):
Nations desperately need to cut emissions, but they
aren't able to install andconnect solar to the grid fast
enough.
It's a problem that is marredin economics, geopolitics,
energy security, human rights,protectionism and, quite simply,
a lack of time.
But the world would not haveinstalled so much solar today
without China, and this vitalrole that Chinese panels play

(05:58):
for climate goals probably isn'tgoing away.
But with the right policies andinvestment, european solar can
play a greater role than wedesperately need to accomplish,
pushing renewable capacity totriple before 2030.