China, to boost the PV industry under the 13th Five-year National Development Plan, has set a target installation capacity of 3.0GWp for model PV power stations to be set up in 2016, according to the government National Energy Administration (NEA).
Model power stations are required to use PV modules made of solar cells with higher energy conversion rates, NEA said. In 2016, modules used in general PV power stations must be made of mono-Si solar cells with a minimum energy conversion rate of 16.0% or poly-Si cells of at least 15.5% in energy conversion rate, NEA indicated.
But for model PV power stations, the respective minimum energy conversion rates are 17.0% and 16.5%, translating into minimum power generation of 275W and 330W for a PV module made of 60 and 72, respectively, mono-Si cells and 270W and 325W for a module made of 60 and 72, respectively, poly-Si cells, NEA explained.
A total installation capacity of 16.5GWp for PV systems was established around China in 2015, resulting in a cumulative capacity of 43.0GWp. The total installation capacity for model PV power stations in 2015 was 1.0GWp.
According to China-based media reports, PV modules made of mono-Si cells are easier than poly-Si ones to attain minimum power generation required for model projects.
