Strollingalonglaneslinedwithlushvegetation,decoratedsporadicallywithclustersofsunflowers,itishardtoimaginethatthesurroundinglandwhereanewenergypowerbasestandswasonceravagedbymining,leftpockmarkedandbarrenbythelong-termandhigh-intensiveextractionofcoal.
Datong,acityinnorthChina’sShanxiProvince,isregardedasthecountry’scoalcapitalandhaslongbeenacrucialsourceofenergy.However,theexploitationoftheregion’snaturalresourceshasledtoa1,687-square-kmareaofsubsidence,orunstableground.Asaresult,thousandsofhouseshavecollapsedandfarmlandinsomeareaswassodamagedthatresidentswereleftwithnochoicebuttomove.
“Coal-miningsubsidenceispresentinaround12percentofDatong’stotalarea,”saidMaAnquan,thecity’sdeputymayor,addingthatecologicalrestorationisatoughchallenge.
Inordertotackletheissue,thegovern-mentproposedthedevelopmentofthephotovoltaic(PV)industryintheareaandgrowingplantsbeneaththePVmodulessoastorejuvenatetheland.ThemoveisconducivetotransformingDatong’scoaldominatedenergystructure,encouragingthecity’stransitionfollowingtheexhaustionofitsresourcesand,moreimportantly,upgradingChina’sPVindustryitself.
Miningsubsidence
Giventhattheregion’sunstablestructurehasresultedinhiddenperilforpeople’ssafety,thelocalgovernmentbeganrelocatingresidentsin2004.AccordingtotheDatongauthorities,bytheendof2017,some74,000residentshadbeenremovedfromdangerouszones,settingasidevaststretchesoflandsuitablefortheconstructionofPVpowerstations.
“PVmodulesarenotallowedtooccupyarableland,sothelandthathadbeendamagedwasagoodchoice,”saidLiuChengkui,chiefrepresentativeoftheTaiyuanRepresentativeOfficeoftheChinaPowerInternationalHoldingLimited,asubsidiaryoftheStatePowerInvestmentCorporation(SPIC),whichisoneofthecompaniesthatconstructedtheDatongPVdemonstrationbase.
Hesaidenterprisesthatwishtousethelandcanrentitfor400yuan($58)permu(0.07hectare)fromresidents.“Itisgoodnewsforlocalpeoplebecausetheyarenowearningstablerents,”Liusaid.
Inaddition,beneaththePVmoduleslayvariousplantsandtreessuchasSabinavulgaris,sunflowersandevenroses.LiusaidthatindroughtareaslikeDatong,plantsthatareprotectedbymodulesaremorelikelytoretainmoisturethanthoseexposedtothesun.Now,atotalof628acresofsubsidenceoccupiedbySPIC’spowerstationhavebeenincasedinatintofgreen.
AccordingtoMeteonorm,adatabaseof8,325meteorologicalstationsandfivegeostationarysatellites,theannualsolarirradiationofDatongismorethan1,400kWhpersquaremeter.ItrankssecondamongcitiesinShanxiandbelongstothesecondtierregionintermsofsolarenergy.Thus,cultivatingthePVindustryisanopportunityforDatongtosurmountthedownwardeconomicpressurecausedbyitsexhaustedcoalresources.
ThePVindustryhasbroughtsocial,environmentalandeconomicbenefitstotheland,whichhasnowbeenconvertedfromanabandonedwastelandtoatreasuretrove,aplacenowhailedbytheNationalEnergyAdministration(NEA)asoneofthedemonstrationbasesofnewPVtechnologies.
AnSPICPVpowerplantwithinademonstrationbaseofChina’sphotovoltaicindustryinareasofDatong,ShanxiProvince,afflictedbycoal-miningsubsidenceZHANGSHASHATheprogram
Datong’stransformationcanbetracedbacktoJune25,2015,whenitscoal-miningsubsidenceareabecamethefirstdemonstrationbasewithadvancedPVtechnologiestobeapprovedbytheNEAaspartoftheTopRunnerprogram.
AccordingtotheNEA,theprogramaimstoapplythetechnologyandexperienceharvestedfromdemonstrationbasessuchastheoneinDatongtootherPVprojectssoastopromotecutting-edgetechnologies,lowercost,reducecorporaterelianceongovernmentsubsidiesandpromotehigh-qualitydevelopment.
“Wehavechosenfivetypesofracks—bothfixedandadjustable—andbydesigningthearraysaccordingtosolarconditionsandgeomorphicfeatures,weareexploringanoptimizedplantomaximizeefficiency,”saidLiu.Moreover,practicaldatafromeachtypewillberecordedtoseewhichachievesbetterresults,benefitingtheentireindustry.
StrictassessmentcriteriawasestablishedtoselectcandidatesforconstructionintheareaastheconversionefficiencyofthesolarcellsusedintheTopRunnerprogramis1percenthigherthanordinaryPVprograms,accordingtoDatong’sdevelopmentandreformcommission.
“Theconversionefficiencyofthesinglecrystallinesiliconsolarcellsthatweusedinourprojectis17.12percent,whichwasthemostadvancedin2015,”saidLiu.
AccordingtotheChinaPhotovoltaicIndustryAssociation,theTopRunnertechnicalindicatorsdevelopedfrom16.5-17percentin2015to17-17.8percentin2017,indicatingthatthemarketisdemandingmoretechnologicalinnovationandprovokingmorecompetitioninthefield.
TheSPIC’s100-megawattChenguangPVpowerplantwasthefirstamongthe13selectedprojectstoconnecttothegridunderthefirstphaseoftheDatongTopRunnerprogram,andthehighestrankingintermsoftechnicalcriteria.
Withtheseadvantages,theSPICwonthebidsforatotalof400megawattsofprojectsforthesecondphaseoftheprogramwhichbeganconstructiononJune29andisexpectedtofinishbeforeNovember30,accountingfor80percentofthetotalcapacityquotaofthesecondphase.
ThefirsttwophasesoftheTopRunnerprogramhavemademanysignificantachievements.Technology,atoppriorityforPVmanufacturersinvolvedintheprogram,hasbeenimproving—someadvancedtechnologicalfruitshavebeengeneralizedinthePVindustry;theconversionefficiencyofsolarcellsrequiredintheprogramin2015hasbecomeacommonstandardforthewholeindustry.
Duetocompetitionamongcompanies,theaveragefeed-intariffwas0.2yuan($0.03)lowerthanthebenchmarkpriceperkilowatthoursetbythegovernment,decliningmorethan20percent.Themovehasnotonlyencouragedenterprisestoimprovetheircompetitiveness,butalsohelpedtoreducegovernmentsubsidies.
Qualityoverquantity
OnJune1,2018,theChineseGovernmentissuednewrulesforPVinstallations,statingthatnoconstructionplanswillbeadvancedforcommonPVprojectsthisyearandthenationalfeedintariffwillbecutby0.05yuan($0.0073)foreverykilowatthour.ThenewrulesshockedthePVindustrysincecompanieswithoutcorecompetitivenesswillsufferunderthenewpolicy.
China’sPVindustryhasrankedfirstintheworldforthepastfiveyearsinregardstonewlyinstalledcapacityattributedtogovernmentsubsidies,butinsomelocalities,PVcapacityisnotinfulluseandhasevenbeenabandoned.
Thenewrulesaimtoregulateexcessivecapacityandseekhigh-qualitydevelopment,whichhappentocoincidewiththegoalsoftheTopRunnerprogram.TheChineseGovernmenttriestosteerthePVindustryfromhighspeedgrowthtohighquality,aimingtodirectitontoamorerationaldevelopmentpath.
Inresponsetothenewpolicy,PVcorporationsareexploringnewwaystogaincorecompetitivenessandsurviveunderthetideofreform.
Liuconcludedthat“improvingPVtechnologyandreducingcostsarebothcrucialforPVcorporationsandforweaningthemoffgovernmentsubsidies.”
“Duetotechnologydevelopment,thepriceofPVmoduleshasbeenslashedfrom4yuan($0.58)to2yuan($0.29),”LiutoldBeijingReview,addingthatthefeed-intariffoftheTopRunnerprogramhasbeenloweredfrom0.95yuan($0.14)perkilowattto0.39yuan($0.057)perkilowatthoursince2015.
“Now,thePVindustryneedstoattachmoreimportancetoimprovingqualityandefficiencyandpromotingtechnologicaldevelopmentratherthanscalingupfurther,”saidLiChuangjun,deputyheadoftheNewEnergyandRenewableEnergyDepartmentoftheNEA.“ThisshouldbethebasicethosforthedevelopmentofthePVindustryintheyearstocome.”
CopyeditedbyRebecaToledoCommentsto