29.03.2022
Analysis shows that Chinese manufacturers account for 70% of the global market for solar cells and 50% for wind turbines.
Solar cell and wind turbine prices bucked a long-standing trend by rising in 2021. This is according to an analysis by Wood MacKenzie published in February.
The principal reasons behind the price rise are record commodity and transport costs, supply chain issues and logistical bottlenecks. Despite this, China added a further 134 GW of renewable energy capacity in 2021, and their total capacity increased to 1,070 GW – amounting to 1/3 of total global renewable energy capacity. According to Wood MacKenzie, Chinese manufacturers now make up 70% of the global market for solar cells and 50% for wind turbines. China is even more dominant in lithium-ion battery production.
Chinese-manufactured solar cells and wind turbines also have far and away the lowest prices on the international market. Wood MacKenzie believes that China’s energy policy and economic growth going forward will create a formidable domestic renewables market, drive costs down even further and enshrine China’s continued dominant position as a global supplier of these technologies. They also point out that China is far from a global leader in other climate-related technology areas such as CCS and low-carbon hydrogen, and that these will be important areas of competition for technology suppliers in the coming years. Looking further into the future, operators outside of China may win competitive advantages around the production of next-generation fuels.
Positive view The analysis takes its point of departure from the revised targets that China submitted to COP26 last autumn, as well as policies adopted in relation to energy and the climate and ongoing trends. This analysis then seeks to assess whether these targets can be realistically met. Generally, the analysis sets out a positive …
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