What Are the Economics of Solar Energy?

The solar industry ^[1] refers to a group of enterprises and institutions that participate in a series of process activities such as the development and application of solar resources. There are seven major technical fields of solar energy utilization: namely photothermal utilization, photothermal power generation utilization, direct thermal power utilization, photoelectric utilization, photochemical utilization, photobiological utilization, and comprehensive utilization of photothermal photovoltaic. China is rich in solar energy resources, and the prospects for solar energy utilization are broad. The development of solar shovel has very bright prospects. The potential, development status, solar energy utilization, policy support, and suggestions for its sustainable development are introduced in detail.

Well known, renewable

China is rich in solar energy resources, and the prospects for solar energy utilization are broad. China is located in the northern hemisphere, with a distance of more than 5,000 kilometers from north to south and east to west. In China's vast land, there are abundant solar energy resources. In most areas, the average daily radiation is above 4 kWh per square meter, and the daily radiation in Tibet is as high as 7 kWh per square meter. The annual sunshine hours are more than 2000 hours. The theoretical reserves of solar energy resources in China amount to 1.700 billion tons of standard coal per year. Compared with other countries of the same latitude, it is similar to the United States and far superior to Europe and Japan. Therefore, it has huge development potential and has a very wide development and utilization potential.

If all these solar energy are used for power generation, it is about equal to the sum of the power generation of tens of thousands of Three Gorges Projects. China has begun to promote solar photovoltaic power generation systems. By 2010, China s total solar photovoltaic power generation capacity will reach 400,000 kilowatts, and by 2020 it will reach 2.2 million kilowatts. This shows that the potential of China's photovoltaic power generation market is huge ^.

Driven by the huge potential of the international photovoltaic market, countries' photovoltaic manufacturing industries are scrambling to invest huge sums of money to expand production to compete for a place. China, as the world's second largest energy consumer, is no exception. In this wave, China's solar thermal utilization is ahead of the world. At present, China's solar thermal utilization area has accounted for 76% of the world, and the area of production and popularization is the largest in the world. Many countries have affirmed China's achievements in developing solar energy. The CNN of the United States claims that "in the near future, China may become the master of the sun"; Norwegian TV station asserts that China will replace the United States as the world's superpower in 2032. The basis is China By then it will become the "big Mac" of the world's new energy ^[4]

The solar energy industry is rapidly developing and changing, and the development of the solar energy industry is inseparable from technical support and product updates. The technological innovation of the solar energy industry is of great significance for energy conservation. At present, there are seven major technical fields for solar energy utilization: namely, photothermal utilization, photovoltaic thermal power generation utilization, direct thermal electricity utilization, photoelectric utilization, photochemical utilization, photobiological utilization, and comprehensive utilization of photovoltaic, photovoltaic, etc. ^[5]

The promulgation and implementation of the "Renewable Energy Law" has provided policy guarantees for the development of the solar energy utilization industry; the signing of the Kyoto Protocol, the promulgation of environmental protection policies and international commitments have brought opportunities to China's solar energy utilization industry; the western region The large-scale development provides a huge domestic market for the solar energy utilization industry; the rise in crude oil prices and the adjustment of China's energy strategy have made the government increase its support for the development of renewable energy, all of which are for the development of China's solar energy utilization industry Bring great opportunities ^[6]

Solar energy industry strengthens policy support

Strengthen policy support, further improve the policy environment to promote the development of the solar energy industry, and actively explore the combination of government guidance and market mechanism promotion, and study and formulate incentive policies to promote solar energy applications. At present, the development and utilization costs of solar energy resources are high and cannot compete with conventional energy sources. Therefore, the government needs to formulate strong laws and policies to drive the commercialization of solar energy resource development and utilization in China, and ensure the renewable energy sources such as solar energy from the legal and policy level. Development ^[4] .

Solar industry improves technological innovation capabilities

Technical innovation capability is an important guarantee for the development of solar energy. At present, China's basic solar energy research is still weak. The total R & D investment in solar energy development is insufficient and the design capacity is insufficient. The R & D investment in the entire solar energy industry accounts for less than 1% of sales revenue, which is far lower than the average level of other industries' inputs. The development potential and competitiveness of the solar industry.

Solar industry perfects industrial system

The solar energy industry is a highly integrated industrial system composed of manufacturing, service, consulting, and insurance industries, and is the main way for solar energy development and utilization. To improve the solar energy industry, it is necessary to establish a complete and reasonable industrial chain as soon as possible through resource integration to provide guarantee for large-scale development of the solar energy industry.