Time: 2019/1/29 13:48:38 Source: Economic Times Author: Views: 2 times

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In 2018, the development of China's photovoltaic industry has experienced a series of policy changes and the impact of various factors such as international trade frictions. Despite this, China's photovoltaic industry got rid of the adverse effects, innovated and developed, and maintained rapid growth. Against the background of problems such as abandonment of solar power and electricity curtailment, market disorder, lack of standardization standards, and subsidy arrears, my country's photovoltaic enterprises continue to seize the opportunity of "two-way development" in the domestic and overseas markets, and accelerate the shift from "scale first" to "quality, Efficiency first” shift.

More active layout in overseas markets

Although affected by various unfavorable factors such as trade frictions, Chinese photovoltaic companies have continued to exert their efforts in overseas markets, especially in countries along the "Belt and Road", and have become an important leading force in the global energy transformation.
According to Yang Liyou, general manager of Jinergy Technology, in 2018, Jinergy Technology's overseas shipments accounted for more than 40% of the annual shipments, which is a breakthrough that Jinergy Technology has made in overseas markets since it started production in 2014.

According to Zhuang Yinghong, global marketing director of Risen Energy, the company's module installation capacity in 2018 is about 5.1GW. The company has not only built large-scale photovoltaic power plants and signed large orders in countries along the “Belt and Road” such as Vietnam, Nepal, and Kazakhstan, but also performed well in emerging markets such as Australia and Brazil.

Li Qian, marketing president of Zhengxin Optoelectronics, said that in 2018, when the policy fluctuated, China's photovoltaic industry has experienced turbulence and tests. Fortunately, after this "adult ceremony", Zhengxin adjusted its strategy in time and actively deployed overseas markets. Its business has spread all over the world such as Japan, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Exports account for a large proportion of corporate sales. Only for the Indian market, Zhengxin's export orders have exceeded 1GW by the end of 2018, and it has become the number one module shipment in India.

Li Qian said that the photovoltaic industry has undergone tremendous changes in 2018, which is the only way for every enterprise to reduce costs and increase efficiency and become mature, which also shows that the photovoltaic industry is moving in a healthier and more autonomous direction. Technology and products are the kingly way for PV companies to survive. Not only should they increase investment in research and development, but also do a good job of localization strategies according to different market needs to better serve the local market. At the same time, it is necessary to create characteristic products belonging to the enterprise and have core competitiveness in order to be fearless.

According to relevant persons of Canadian Solar, Canadian Solar provides residents in 61 countries and regions along the “Belt and Road”.solar energyPower generation products and services. Since 2010, Canadian Solar has provided a total of 5.33 GW of solar modules in countries and regions along the "Belt and Road", with a cumulative sales of more than 2.6 billion US dollars; the total number of grid-connected photovoltaic power stations built along the "Belt and Road" is nearly 2.7 gigawatt. At the same time, Canadian Solar has manufacturing bases in Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil and Indonesia along the “Belt and Road”, with a total investment of over 1.3 billion US dollars along the “Belt and Road”.

The speed of transformation and change continues to accelerate

Facing the influence of various factors at home and abroad, what measures will photovoltaic companies take to deal with it? Yang Liyou said that from a domestic perspective, my country's photovoltaic industry is currently going through a critical period of transitioning from relying on subsidies to grid parity. Enterprises should not only grasp the pace of development and get through the darkness before dawn, but also do a good job in technical reserves and breakthroughs. The continuous reduction of non-technical costs and the continuous improvement of product efficiency are breakthroughs in reducing the cost of photovoltaic power generation and achieving grid parity. power.

From a global perspective, the adjustment and transformation of the energy structure is a common problem faced by all countries in the world. As a clean and renewable energy, photovoltaics occupy an important position in the future energy structure. With the deepening of globalization, the photovoltaic industry has also become one of the globalized industries. Trade protection will not benefit any party, and trade frictions and trade barriers are only temporary. While Jinergy pays attention to the "Belt and Road" and emerging markets, it also pays close attention to important markets with temporary trade barriers.

Zhuang Yinghong said that China's photovoltaic market is accelerating its entry into the stage of grid parity, and the international trade friction represented by "Sino-US trade friction" has made Chinese photovoltaic companies begin to look for emerging markets. In 2018, the global photovoltaic market is full of challenges and opportunities, which are driving the photovoltaic industry to develop in a healthy and sustainable direction. In this context, Risen Energy has not given up on the domestic market, and is also vigorously developing overseas markets, and has achieved remarkable results.

Gan Shengquan, President and CEO of Saiwei Solar Technology Group, said that in 2018, photovoltaic companies encountered multiple challenges. Nonetheless, the speed of the photovoltaic industry's transformation from extensive volume growth to high-tech and high-quality growth is accelerating, and the path of the trend toward affordable Internet access is becoming more and more clear. Facing the new market situation, Xinsaiwei has made a strategic transformation of "abandoning the old road of volume competition, creating a new path of technology-led, high-quality development, and building an asset-light technology-based enterprise", and is building a technology platform, introducing Pioneering work has been done in terms of scientific and technological talents and upgrading of technical equipment.

Cai Jibo, general manager of SUMEC Group, said that in 2018, relevant domestic policies and international frictions brought certain challenges to the development of the industry. But overall, the policy direction is still promoting the decline of new energy subsidies and affordable access to the Internet. De-subsidyization is the general trend of market development. How to survive in a market environment with reduced subsidies or even no subsidies puts more demands on the ability and professionalism of enterprises in project design and product manufacturing.

Seize the opportunity of "two-way development"

The domestic photovoltaic market is making efforts to "grid parity", accelerating to a new stage of competing for quality, technology and efficiency. What opportunities and challenges will the photovoltaic market have in 2019?

Gan Shengquan believes that the demand for photovoltaics in the international market will increase significantly in 2019. The global solar demand is expected to reach 112 GW, and 16 countries around the world will increase their installed photovoltaic capacity by more than 1 GW. Many overseas countries or regions are in the stage of energy development and transformation, and there is an urgent need for new energy. Under this circumstance, it is unstoppable for Chinese companies to "go overseas". New Saiwei has also set its sights on countries along the "Belt and Road" such as Southeast Asia and Africa, continuing its strong brand influence in overseas markets and joining international competition and cooperation.

Cai Jibo believes that 2019 will be the first year of de-subsidy for the photovoltaic industry and a year of industry transformation and transformation. Change is opportunity. On the one hand, as the photovoltaic industry gradually enters a low-subsidy or no-subsidy era, it means that the development of the industry will tend to be stable in the future, and the probability that the adjustment of the subsidy policy will have a dramatic impact on the development of the industry will be greatly reduced. On the other hand, with the introduction of affordable or even low-cost Internet access policies, the gap between enterprises due to non-technical costs will gradually narrow, and the requirements for enterprise production efficiency, product quality, and cost control will gradually increase. After the photovoltaic industry achieves grid parity, it will pursue the combination with new era technology, and continuously improve the systems related to smart grid, multi-energy complementarity, and energy storage.

Li Qian believes that the global photovoltaic market will still achieve breakthrough growth in 2019, thanks to the rise of overseas emerging markets. According to the survey, there will be more than 15 global photovoltaic GW-level markets in 2019. Under the tide of new energy reform, more GW-level markets will emerge around the world. For photovoltaic enterprises, it is necessary to adhere to the "two-way development" of domestic and overseas markets, while increasing technology research and development, and learning from the successful development experience of international customers, so that the photovoltaic industry can achieve long-term development.