China's new renewables capacity declines in 2019

A confusing subsidy scheme for solar projects led to a lower capacity addition.

China’s renewable energy capacity addition slid in 2019 as 30.1GW of solar power was added in the year, a significantly lower capacity compared to 2018’s 44.4GW, according to a report by GlobalData

The fall in energy capacity persisted despite the Chinese government’ subsidies for centralized solar projects extending to $245.1m (1.7b Yuan), which involves a total installed capacity of 22.8GW as compared to an absence of subsidies in 2018, said the report.

The low capacity addition during the first three quarters of 2019 was attributed to the uncertainty about the specifics of the subsidy scheme. The lack of understanding in the principles of bidding as well as an issue of insufficient preliminary preparation of projects were the factors responsible, according to Harminder Singh, director of power at GlobalData.