China's National Energy Administration recently disclosed that its target for new solar-powered plants during the 12th Five-Year Plan period is 10GW. The government also set its target for individual installations at 10GW. Additionally, the government called for a total investment of CNY250 billion (US$39 billion) within the five-year period. The government also hopes that by 2015, there will be 500,000 workers within the solar industry.
The announcement has been seen as a comfort for China-based solar firms due to the recent anti-dumping investigations in Europe.
China's domestic demand in 2012 has been forecast at around 5GW, which is comparable to Germany's annual demand of 7GW in both 2010 and 2011.
To increase solar installations, the government plans to construct 100 new energy demonstration cities and 1,000 new energy demonstration parks during the 12th Five-Year period. The government also plans to support construction of electricity-generating projects in rural areas. Regions with relatively small populations such as Tibet, Qinghai, Xinjiang, and Yunnan have been encouraged to set up standalone solar installations.
