China's H1 solar additions grow 20% Y/Y

China installed 11.4 GW of fresh solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in the first half of 2019, according to data by China’s National Energy Administration (NEA).

The additions were 20% more than in the year-ago period and brought the country’s cumulative installed PV capacity to around 186 GW. Of that total, grid-connected solar parks are 130.5 GW, while 55 GW of the overall capacity is in the distributed generation (DG) segment.

In the first six months of 2019, China put on stream 6.82 GW of grid-connected solar parks, marking a 16% year-on-year increase. DG assets that were brought online in the reporting period were 4.58 GW, or 31% more than a year before.

By region, the bulk of the newly-commissioned capacity in January-June, or 3.92 GW, came from North China, which accounted for 28.9% of the total. East China was responsible for 20% with 2.28 GW of new installations and Central China added 1.35 GW.

In May, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) gave the go-ahead to 20.76 GW of renewable energy projects that will be developed without government subsidies. The list, being the first batch of such projects planned for 2019, includes 168 of solar PV schemes with a combined capacity of 14.78 GW and DG trading pilot projects totalling 1.47 GW.

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