Will China's photovoltaic industry expand in 2023?

After years of continuous increases, silicon prices in China have started to fall due to overcapacity, and this is likely to contribute to an expansion of China’s photovoltaic industry in 2023. In December 2022, the price of silicon, the key raw material of solar panels, started to drop.

Does China Export solar panels?

In the first half of 2022, China’s exports of solar panels amounted to 78.7 GW, an increase of 102% year-on-year. China’s leading PV companies derive from 50% to 80% of their revenue from outside China. Will the drop in the price of silicon translate into lower prices for foreign customers of Chinese solar panels?

How will lower solar costs affect China's PV industry in 2023?

For one thing, silicon materials will not be a bottleneck restricting demand, and the first impact of the lower upstream costs is an increase in production of the downstream solar panels and components. Lower production costs will likely give a boost to both local and foreign demand in China’s PV industry in 2023.

How much silicon does China produce a year?

According to the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, in 2022, China’s polysilicon production was around 811,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 65.5%. Does cheap silicon mean more solar panels?

Why did silicon price drop in October 2022?

The dramatic price drops were expected: In October 2022, we predicted that the price of silicon was about to drop, due to a crackdown on price gouging by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and to the increase in production capacity in China.

How big is China's solar power industry?

Newly installed PV capacity could exceed 100 GW (up from the approximately 80 GW record high of 2022 ). PV revenues from companies listed on Chinese stock markets might top a trillion yuan (more than $147.5 billion) (in the first three quarters of 2022 alone, these revenues amounted to 961.706 billion yuan, or $141.71 billion).