China revises PV industry standards

Technicians install photovoltaic panels in Chongqing. SUN KAIFANG/FOR CHINA DAILY China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has announced revisions to photovoltaic manufacturing industry standards, addressing current challenges like businesses' repetitive expansion of low-level production capacity and falling profitability, to promote the PV industry's healthier development. Previously, the 2021 regulations for the photovoltaic manufacturing industry set a minimum ratio of 30 percent for new and expanded polysilicon projects, and 20 percent for other new and expanded photovoltaic projects. Data from the China Photovoltaic Industry Association revealed that despite a more than 32 percent year-on-year increase in the production of silicon wafers, cells and modules in the first half of 2024, the domestic PV manufacturing output value fell by 36.5 percent to approximately 538.6 billion yuan. "The new regulations would help accelerate the elimination of outdated capacity and support the industry's long-term healthy development," said Lin Boqiang, head of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University.