China Installed 7.21 GW of Solar in First Quarter of 2017

According to the report from NEA, China has installed .78 GW of utility-scale solar and 2.43 GW of distributed solar PV in the First Quarter of 2017.

China had installed an impressive 7.21 GW of new solar power capacity in the first quarter of 2017, and had generated 21.4 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, up 80% over the same period a year earlier.

As reported in the country’s National Energy Administration release, China has added 7.21 GW of solar capacity in Quarter 1 of 2017, which included 4.78 GW of utility-scale solar and 2.43 GW of distributed solar PV. This adds up to China’s cumulative solar PV capacity to almost 85 GW.

However, curtailment issues still plague various regions in China. While curtailment/abandonment figures for Ningxia and Gansu dropped by 10% and 19% respectively, the regions of Qinghai, Shaanxi, and Inner Mongolia all saw their curtailment issues increase by 9%, 11%, and 8% respectively, while Xinjiang’s curtailment figure is still astronomically high, at 39%.

The central and eastern regions of the country saw the greatest share of new solar PV capacity, with 6.39 GW installed, or 89% of the total.

Via: Cleantechnica