A record achieved in just a few years: today China is the world's leading producer of photovoltaic energy, with 77.42 gigawatts of installed power capable of generating around 66.2 billion kilowatt-hours during 2016. Capacity more than doubled over the past year, thanks to the installation of a further 34.54 gigawatts. The United States follows with 14 gigawatts, Japan with 8.6 gigawatts and India with 4.5 gigawatts.

This was announced by the National Energy Administration, which, following the presentation of the 13th Five-Year Plan, published the results of the photovoltaic market in its country. An exponential growth that places China first globally in terms of production. It should be noted, however, that solar currently accounts for just 1 per cent of national output, while the non-fossil fuel energy mix accounts for 11 per cent.

Further investments

But the growth is not expected to stop there. The Chinese government intends to install a further 110 gigawatts by 2020, which would represent around 84 per cent of the new capacity to be installed over the coming three years. The forecast is to reach a share of renewables capable of covering one fifth of national production by 2030. An estimated 340 billion euros in investments are expected to create 13 million new jobs.

While solar and wind are growing strongly – half of the wind power capacity installed worldwide in 2015 was located in China – there is also a steady decline in coal's contribution to energy production. Just in recent weeks came the decision to halt construction of more than 100 new coal-fired power plants, which nonetheless represent 920 gigawatts of installed capacity. A colossal figure compared with that of solar.

China the world's top producer, Europe at a standstill

While the Chinese market is in constant ferment, the European market is recording a slight dip, attributable nonetheless to the strong growth of recent years. According to the report "Energy transition in the power sector in Europe", published by Energiewende and Sandbag, energy produced from renewables in 2016 grew by less than 2 per cent compared with the previous year, settling at 16.9 terawatt-hours, or 29.6 per cent of the European energy mix — a figure that is nonetheless higher than China's 11 per cent.

The photovoltaic sector alone saw a 20 per cent decrease in newly installed capacity, compared with the 8.6 gigawatts connected to the grid in 2015 (Solar Power data). "Once a leader in solar, the European Union now risks being eclipsed by Asian powers such as China, both in solar energy production and in installations. Even the United States, with a population far smaller than that of the 28 member states, added approximately twice the solar energy capacity in 2016," said Michael Schmela, Executive Advisor and Head of Market Intelligence at SolarPower Europe. The fact remains, however, that Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Portugal set several records in 2016, a sign that renewables still have much to offer across the entire old continent.