Electricity produced from commercial and industrial solar energy systems is now cheaper in Chinese cities than that supplied by the national grid.

In addition, researchers found that when built into the local grid, solar generators produce lower-cost electricity than coal in 22 per cent of the country's cities.

The findings suggest that there may now be an economic incentive that will promote the uptake of commercial and industrial solar power systems in China.

China has become the global leader in the manufacturing of solar power systems — an enthusiasm that may spread from export to national use.

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Electricity produced from commercial and industrial solar energy systems is now cheaper in China than that supplied by the national grid

Chemical engineer Jinyue Yan of the KTH Royal Institute of Technology and colleagues estimated the total costs of setting up and running solar energy systems in Chinese cities and compared these costs with city-level grid electricity prices.

The researchers also estimated grid-scale solar electricity prices, comparing these with those derived from coal-fired power plants.

'In recent years, China has become not just a large producer but a major market for solar photovoltaics,' the researchers wrote in their paper.

'The solar photovoltaics industry in China [has] expanded from a tiny, rural-orientated solar programme in the 1990s to the global leader in what may soon be the world’s largest renewable energy source.'

The team found that commercial and industrial and photovoltaic-based solar energy systems are capable of generating electricity at lower costs that the grid supply in all of the 344 prefecture-level Chinese cities.

Passing this tipping point — referred to as 'parity' — will provide a financial incentive for the increasing uptake of commercial and industrial solar power systems.

'Among these cities, cities in Tibet, Gansu, Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang have the best user-side grid parity conditions,' the researchers wrote.

Furthermore, they revealed that grid solar electricity systems are also capable of producing electricity at lower prices than coal in around 22 per cent — or 76 — of China's cities.

'In recent years, China has become not just a large producer but a major market for solar photovoltaics,' the researchers wrote in their paper. Pictured, China's Wanjiashan Photovoltaic Power Station in Sichuan Province, seen here in 2014 just before its completion

'Among these cities, cities in Tibet, Gansu, Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang have the best user-side grid parity conditions,' the researchers wrote. Pictured, the ratio of the costs of solar and grid-based electricity in different prefectures. Darker shades reflect better conditions

The researchers also found that grid solar electricity systems are also capable of producing electricity at lower prices than coal in around 22 per cent — or 76 — of China's cities

Like many other developing countries, China has not substantially subsidised solar energy systems to counteract their initial higher costs.

Despite this, the availability of lower labour and system hardware costs may soon place parity with the nation's grid electrical prices within solar power's reach.

The full findings of the study were published in the journal Nature Energy.

The availability of lower labour and system hardware costs in China may soon place parity with the nation's grid electrical prices within solar power's reach. Pictured, the photovoltaic-laden roof of the Beijing Daxing International Airport, seen here being constructed December 2018

SOLAR POWER EXPLAINED: ENERGY IS CONVERTED FROM SUNLIGHT INTO ELECTRICITY Solar panels convert energy from the sun into electrical power (stock image) Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity. Two methods for generating solar power exist. Photovoltaics — the kind of solar panel you might see built into a calculator — are capable of directly converting light into electrical power. In concentrated solar power systems, however, mirrors or lenses are first used to collect the sunlight that falls on a large area and focus it — creating heat that can be used to drive a steam turbine and generate electricity. The productivity of solar panels is dependant on the sunlight they receive in a given location — a factor which is dependant on both latitude and climate. Optimum locations for solar farms include the arid tropics and subtropics, with deserts lying at such low latitudes often being cloudless and getting around 10 hours of sunlight each day. According to NASA, the eastern part of the Sahara — the Libyan Desert — is the sunniest place on the Earth. Solar power accounted for 1.7 per cent of the world's electricity production in 2017, and has been growing at a rate of 35 per cent each year. Advertisement



