China s national subsidy standards for solar power generation

Do government subsidies improve the innovation efficiency of China's PV industry?

Some scholars have used data envelopment analysis and the Tobit model to analyze the relationship between the development of China's PV industry and government subsidies, and the study shows that government subsidies play an important role in improving the innovation efficiency of China's PV industry (Lin and Luan, 2020).

How are solar tariffs paid in China?

In China, the tariff gaps for stationary solar, and the national subsidy for distributed solar are both paid through RES, which is levied on end-users in retail electricity prices. The rate of RES embodied in the retail electricity price was firstly 0.001 Yuan/kWh since 2006.

Are solar power subsidies based on quality?

Currently, the subsidies for solar power are based on the quantity of solar generation, rather than quality. With a larger share of solar power, its shocks to the electricity system would be even more severe .

Do solar generators receive national and local subsidies?

Particularly, solar generators adopting both models can receive national and local subsidies based on the amount of generation. The national subsidy is uniform across the entire country, which was 0.42 Yuan/kWh in 2013 and decreased to 0.37 Yuan/kWh in 2017 and then 0.32 Yuan/kWh in the middle of 2018.

How can solar power be used in China?

As for distributed solar power, there are two utilization models: (A) self-consumption and selling surplus to the grid; and (B) selling all solar generations to the grid. To reduce the costs of transmission and distribution (such as transmission loss), model A is more encouraged by the Chinese government.

Should government subsidies support PV supply chain companies?

When supported by government subsidies, the government should give full consideration to the power structure of the PV supply chain companies, and the relationship of equal status of supply chain companies is most conducive to the government's implementation of PV subsidies.