China’s Ministry of Finance has unwrapped plans to subsidise half the cost of building independent solar-array projects in the country, including new power transmission and distribution systems to link projects to the grid.
The subsidy will stretch to 70% for solar projects in remote regions with no current power supply, as the country continues searching for ways to create demand for its domestic PV industry. In order to qualify, solar projects must be built within one year, and the Chinese government says it seeks to build 500 megawatts (MW) of capacity over the next three years. Initially it will put a cap of 20MW on the subsidies given to projects in any one province in order to ensure the industry is spread throughout the country. Earlier this year the Ministry of Finance gave the Chinese photovoltaics industry a shot in the arm when it announced a feed-in tariff of 20 yuan ($2.93) per watt for building-integrated projects.