China to gain 80% of global solar manufacturing capacity

The market recently received a $130b investment into the solar industry.

With the increased expansion in the solar manufacturing market, China will take over the global solar supply chain by over 80% from 2023 to 2026, following a $130b investment in the sector this year.

A report by Wood Mackenzie found that more than one terawatt (TW) of wafer, cell, and module capacity is efficient for China to aid the global demand for solar power by 2032. This is also aided by the advanced technology, low costs, and complete supply chain of the solar industry.

The cost-competitiveness of the market has allowed solar products to be 50% cheaper than those manufactured in Europe and 65% cheaper than the US. China will also remain the global technological leader with its estimated 1,000 GW of N-type cell capacity, the next-generation technology after P-type, representing 17 times more capacity than the rest of the world.

ALSO READ: Masdar, PLN launch largest floating solar plant in Southeast Asia

“China’s solar manufacturing expansion has been driven by high margins for polysilicon, technology upgrades and for developing local manufacturing in overseas markets, China will still dominate the global solar supply chain and continue to widen the technology and cost gap with competitors,” Huaiyan Sun, senior consultant at Wood Mackenzie and author of the report, stated.