China’s Solar Prices Can Fall 38%, Become Competitive With Coal
- Trina Solar CEO says state subsidies could be allowed to drop
- Innovation in solar power conversion efficiency drives gains
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Declining costs in China’s solar industry could allow the government to reduce prices offered to photovoltaic developers by more than a third by 2020 and see plants powered by the sun become competitive with coal within a decade.
“It’s possible” to allow prices to be cut to 0.5 yuan (U.S. 8 cents) a kilowatt-hour in four years, the world’s biggest panel maker Trina Solar Ltd. said in an e-mail citing chairman Gao Jifan. This year developers got at least 0.8 yuan a kilowatt-hour for photovoltaic power generated for approved projects.