China had only about 300 megawatts of rooftop solar power capacity at the end of 2010. Other main solar power installations include ground-mounted, utility-scale photovotaic power stations and concentrated solar thermal power plants.
China has doubled its target for installed solar power capacity over the next five years to 10 GW by 2015 and 50 GW by 2020, state media reported.
The country aims to have 100 gigawatts (GW) of on-grid wind farm generating capacity by the end of 2015 and to generate 190 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of wind energy annually, the China Securities Journal reported, citing a government plan. The goal was higher than a target of 90 GW proposed earlier by the National Energy Administration.
Of the planned 10 GW of solar power capacity in 2015, photovoltaic power installations will account for 9 GW and concentrated solar thermal power capacity will make up the rest, the report said.
Last month, the country set unified grid feed-in tariff for solar power generation for the first time ever, giving clearer guidance for solar power project developers when making investment decisions.