Davos Forum: Photovoltaic Power Generation Costs Need to Decline Future “Green” Outlook Optimistic

Shi Zhengrong, chairman and CEO of China Suntech Power, the world's second-largest manufacturer of solar cells, said on Monday that there is pressure to reduce the cost of power generation in the photovoltaic industry, but he is optimistic about the future of “green power” (photovoltaic power generation).

He told Reuters in the gap between the Davos Forum in Tianjin, "I think it may be five years or maybe ten years later, when everyone will go to buy 'green'."

Shi Zhengrong further explained that there is no additional cost after a one-time investment in photovoltaic power generation, so the power generation price is relatively stable, but the cost of the thermal power price increases over time.

When asked if the second round of bidding for PV had been tendered at a low price, he declined to respond.

The concession tender for the second batch of 280 MW photovoltaic power plants in China is nearing completion. According to a report by the China Securities Network at the end of August, the lowest bid price for the 13 projects was 0.7288 yuan per degree, and the highest bid price was 0.9907 yuan, marking China's in-grid electricity tariff entering the era of 1 yuan.

Due to factors such as component cost and photoelectric conversion rate, the cost of domestic PV power generation is still significantly higher than that of conventional coal-fired power generation, and the economics of large-scale grid-connected power generation are not yet available, and the National Development and Reform Commission establishes concession bidding for photovoltaic power stations for grid-connected power generation. One of its original intentions is to discover the reasonable price of photovoltaic power generation by guiding competition, and explore pricing methods through tentative bidding.

In addition, regarding the polysilicon industry, Shi Zhengrong said that the industry may have blind signs of construction three years ago, but “now I believe that the people who invest in this field are very clear”.

China is the world's largest producer of photovoltaic cells, and Suntech Power has become the second largest plant in the world in 2009, second only to the United States First Solar. Currently, more than 10 Chinese photovoltaic cell companies, including CSI Artz, Trina Solar, are listed on developed markets such as the United States.