China's Photovoltaic Power Generation Facilitates Carbon Emission Reduction

As a clean and renewable form of energy, photovoltaic (PV) power generation converts solar energy into electrical energy, reducing the consumption of fossil fuels and significantly lowering greenhouse gas emissions. China, with its vast territory and wide distribution of solar resources, naturally possesses an advantage in developing the PV industry. The technical potential of land centralized PV power in China is about 41.88×10⁹ kW, and its spatial pattern is basically consistent with the spatial pattern of solar energy resource endowment. The “Three North” regions (Northeast, Northwest, and North China) account for 90.95% of the country’s total, while the central and southeastern regions (Central China, East China, and South China) account for only 9.05%. For specific provinces, Xinjiang has the largest potential of centralized PV power, higher than 20×10⁹ kW. The technical potential of distributed PV power in China is about 3.73×10⁹ kW, with the “Three North” regions accounting for 51.34% of the national total, and the central and southeastern regions accounting for 48.66%. In terms of specific provinces, Shandong has the largest technical potential of distributed PV power, close to 400×10⁶ kW. According to the National Energy Administration, in 2023, China’s newly added grid-connected PV power capacity was 216.3×10⁶ kW, including 120.014×10⁶ kW for centralized PV power stations and 96.286×10⁶ kW for distributed PV power, among which the installed capacity of residential distributed PV reached 43.483×10⁶ kW. By the end of 2023, the accumulated grid-connected capacity reached a total of 608.92×10⁶ kW, with centralized at 354.48×10⁶ kW and distributed at 254.44×10⁶ kW. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2023, PV power generation for industrial enterprises above a designated size (with a main business income of more than 2×10⁷ yuan) totaled 294×10⁹ kWh, making a year-on-year increase of 17.2%. Overall, the PV power generation in 2023 was 583.3×10⁹ kWh, up by 36.4% compared to the previous year. Currently, China has established a complete PV industry chain that ranges from silicon material preparation to module production. China is also actively exploring the integrated development of PV with other industries, forming a diversified development model of “PV +”, which greatly promotes the diverse application and sustainable development of PV technology. China is actively engaged in the construction and planning of numerous large-scale wind and PV power bases. Forecasts indicate that by 2030, the nation’s cumulative installed PV capacity could range from 840×10⁶ kW to 1260×10⁶ kW, with a further anticipated expansion to 2996×10⁶ kW to 3845×10⁶ kW by 2060. Concurrently, the total electricity generation from PV power is projected to be between 1.47×10¹² kWh and 2.28×10¹² kWh by 2030, potentially surging to a range of 3.11×10¹² kWh to 6.00×10¹² kWh by the year 2060. Capitalizing on the surging global demand for clean energy, China’s PV sector is positioning itself as a cornerstone in the pivot towards a sustainable energy future.