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Bloomberg
Hope for a boom in the global solar industry this year is fading as the top market is expected to miss its installation target.
China is likely to fail meeting the new capacity estimates it touted earlier this year, which were as high as 45 gigawatts, according to analysts at Daiwa Capital Markets and BloombergNEF, as well as the state-run Energy Research Institute. Daiwa forecasts 2019 installations may even fall below 30 gigawatts, almost a third less than last year.
Installations in the first nine months of 16 gigawatts are down more than 50% from a year ago, according to data from the National Energy Administration. The slump comes after rules that determine which projects would receive subsidies were delayed until July, leading developers to pause new projects in the first half. Average solar panel price are down 13% this year, BloombergNEF data show.
Chinese regulators spent much of this year in consultation with the industry on encouraging market-driven developments, particularly by reducing subsidies.