China hikes 2011 solar power target
China is aiming for an installed solar power capacity of 2 GW by 2011, nearly a 15-fold jump from the 140 mW capacity it had at the end of last year (...) The National Energy Administration has decided to expand the country's solar power capacity to 2 GW in the next two years, with a subsidized price for solar power of 1.09 yuan per kWh [three times the rate paid by coal-fired power plants]. (...) The solar industry has been hit hard since the end of last year due to freezing credit resulting from the financial crisis and an oversupply of solar panels that have cut prices sharply. (...) The government in March approved a subsidy of 20 yuan per watt for solar PV systems larger than 50 kW fixed on building roofs. The subsidy, which could cover half the cost of installing the system, was popular among developers, attracting applications equivalent to the building of 1 GW of solar power, Reuters reported earlier.