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Solar boom to bust in China: worlds largest solar PV projects drop 43% as subsidies cut

Solar boom to bust in China: worlds largest solar PV projects drop 43% as subsidies cut

http://joannenova.com.au/2018/08/solar-boom-to-bust-in-china-worlds-largest-solar-pv-projects-drop-43-as-subsidies-cut/

JoNova: Science, carbon, climate and tax

Solar boom to bust in China: worlds largest solar PV projects drop 43% as subsidies cut

by Jo Nova / Yesterday, 13:06
The advantage of communist autocrats is that they can create government havoc so much more efficiently.

The Chinese solar boom was so big it became the world’s largest solar market. It was so big it pushed up global “clean energy” investment to a record high. China became the veritable show pony of the solar spruikers: “leading the world in clean energy investment”. Mashable tells us it was so big “the solar boom could be seen from space“.

But the star advertisement for renewable glory was all based on subsidies:

The Chinese solar boom was “pretty significant”

A couple of months ago the Chinese government admitted they were cutting the subsidies to make electricity cheaper again for consumers. That hit the stock market. Now projects are being cancelled and orders are drying up for the hapless manufacturers.

The free market might be telling us something China’s solar industry is at a crossroads

“Without subsidies there’s no return on investment for over a decade, so investors and property owners aren’t interested in distributed solar. With subsidies it only takes seven years to recoup the investment,” he adds.

China’s solar manufacturers are unhappy with recent government policy changes […]

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