Renewable

Feb 14 (Renewables Now) - China’s grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) capacity has reached 77.42 GW at the end of 2016, after it put on stream some 34.54 GW last year alone, official data by the country’s National Energy Administration (NEA) shows.

The agency’s preliminary solar statistics for the year were 300 MW lower. The Asian country is the global leader in both new and cumulative capacity, according to NEA’s revised calculations.

The annual additions include 30.31 GW of large-scale photovoltaic (PV) plants, while the rest is comprised of distributed generation (DG) arrays. As for its cumulative capacity, the ratio in China stands at 67.1 GW against 10.32 GW in favour of big solar power plants.

China's grid received 66.2 TWh of solar power in the 12 months through December, equal to 1% of its entire electricity generation.

About 28% of solar deployment in 2016 was in the north-west, while the remaining 72% were throughout the country. Nine eastern and central provinces deployed more than 1 GW of PV parks last year, details on which are available in the table below:

When it comes to the DG sector alone, China saw a 200% year-on-year increase in deployment, putting 4.24 GW on stream in 2016. Zhejiang was responsible for 860 MW, more than any other province in China.

China’s newest official 2015-2020 energy plan envisages having at least 110 GW of solar power in operation by the end of the decade.