Is China Putting the Brakes on its Solar Program?
Despite the fact that China led the world in clean energy investments last year, the Chinese government is now backing away from ambitious plans to plant megawatts of solar in the country.(...) The global financial crisis froze China's export-oriented solar industry from late 2008 to early 2009, pushing the government to create alternate solutions such as developing the domestic market. Since then, the international market has rebounded, reducing the need for a domestic program.
Already, the government's annual subsidy for solar PV projects has hit RMB 7 billion, or more than US$1 billion, according to Wang Sicheng from China's National Development and Reform Commission. (...) In addition to the financial burden, the government also wants to prevent the Chinese solar PV market from overheating.