China’s international exhibition and conference for the solar industry opens its doors for the second time from December 12-14, 2012
Freiburg/Pforzheim, Germany, and Beijing, China, May 1, 2012 – The international solar industry is meeting at Intersolar China for the second time this year. In no other Asian country has the market for solar energy developed so dynamically over the last year as in China. Last year, Intersolar China became part of the worldwide network of international Intersolar exhibitions and conferences, which also includes global events in Munich, San Francisco and Mumbai. This year, around 250 exhibitors are expected to present their latest products and services from the areas of photovoltaics and solar thermal technologies across an exhibition space covering 11,000 square meters. The annual exhibition takes place from December 12-14, 2012, at the China National Convention Center (CNCC) in Beijing. The Intersolar China Conference begins the day before, on December 11, and ends on December 13, 2012, the second day of the exhibition. Around 500 industry experts from China and around the world are expected to attend the conference at the InterContinental Hotel in Beijing.
Predictions made about the Chinese solar market were greatly exceeded last year. Supported by new political conditions and feed-in tariffs, the solar market underwent an extremely dynamic period of growth in 2011. The amount of new solar power capacity installed more than quadrupled in comparison to the previous year, reaching a total of around 2.5 GW. In a worldwide comparison of new PV capacity installed in 2011, China was already in third place behind Italy and Germany. Free-standing installations underwent the greatest growth, with around 80 percent of the capacity installed. These were followed by commercial roof installations with a share of approximately 17 percent and grid-independent systems with around 3 percent.
The National Energy Administration has revised their aims on the expansion of photovoltaic installations upwards, as part of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) for National Economic and Social Development approved by the National People’s Congress in March 2011. According to plans made by China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), excellent development possibilities for renewable energy in general and more specifically for photovoltaics are to be expected. The Chinese government aims to install PV plants with a capacity of 15 GW in 2015 and plans to have extended this capacity to 50 GW by 2020. Successful incentive programs, such as the Golden Sun Program, are set to be continued, and additional initiatives will be introduced on both a national and provincial level. The National Energy Administration has already announced approval for projects with a capacity of 3 GW to be implemented this year. In the medium term, China has the potential to become the largest photovoltaics market worldwide and China’s international exhibition and conference for the solar industry, Intersolar China, will continuously contribute to the future expansion of photovoltaics in China.
