2010-11-19 13:27

NANJING - China's solar photovoltaic (PV) production industry could see an overcapacity next year as output is estimated to almost double this year, industry experts said Thursday.

Production was set to hit 7,000 to 8,000 megawatt (mW) this year from last year's 4,011 mW, which would account for more than half of the world's total, Shi Dinghuan, president of the China Renewable Energy Society, told a conference in the eastern city of Nanjing.

China's PV industry had experienced faster growth than the world average since 2004, said Zhao Yuwen, head of the society's PV committee. In 2003, China's world market share was less than two percent, he said.

The world's total installed PV capacity is projected to jump more than 65 percent annually to 12,200 mW this year, said Shi Zhengrong, chairman and CEO of Chinese solar panel maker Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd.

The industry would see overcapacity next year as slow economic recovery in many European countries had resulted in slower growth in clean energy investment, warned Shi.

China's solar panel makers needed to be cautious about output expansion as 95 percent of their output relied on exports, Shi said.