The Tamesis
Shares of Chinese solar panel makers soared on Wednesday after reports that Elon Musk sent employees to visit photovoltaic suppliers.
Local media reports have fueled speculation that the world’s richest man is looking to expand solar cell production in the United States.
Shares of large solar panel producer JinkoSolar rose 20% in early trading, while other large panel makers such as Trina Solar and Shenzhen Tuori Solar gained 9-10%. Shares of photovoltaic materials manufacturer Suzhou Jolywood New Watt also rose 20%.
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Musk’s team visited companies involved in manufacturing equipment, silicon wafers, battery modules and perovskite technology, according to a report. CNBC reportsThe report points to heterojunction and perovskite technologies as next-generation approaches seeking to improve cell efficiency, the latter of which could reduce costs if manufacturing challenges are solved.
State-backed Calian Press said the visitors were from Tesla and SpaceX, while 21st Century Business Herald said JinkoSolar confirmed the visit but gave no other details.
During Tesla’s earnings call last week, Musk said he planned to build 100 gigawatts of solar cell capacity in the United States, adding: “The solar opportunity is undervalued.”
This has triggered speculation that technology giants are moving upstream into the power industry.
Solar ‘will overtake coal in China’
Meanwhile, the China Electricity Council expects solar power generation to exceed coal power generation for the first time this year.
Wind and solar energy are expected to provide nearly half of the country’s electricity capacity by the end of 2026.
If hydropower and nuclear power are added, these four “clean energy sources” add up to nearly two-thirds of total electricity generation, so coal can only provide about one-third.
Coal currently accounts for about half of China’s electricity generation, according to a report Yale360the report says solar and wind are starting to replace coal.
China continues to build new coal-fired power plants, but most of them burn less coal than wind and solar, and a large proportion of them operate at a loss.
“According to the latest government guidelinescoal will begin to play a more limited role. Coal-fired generators will increasingly serve as “peaker” plants to meet sudden surges in electricity demand or gaps in wind and solar supplies. “
“Greater China’s decision-making is imminent”
Lauri Myllyvirta, a top analyst at the Center for Energy and Clean Air Research Yale Environment 360 China must decide in the next year or two whether to slow down the construction of coal-fired power plants or start closing older coal-fired power plants.
“The two biggest choices will be how to reform the grid – China’s grid management is still quite outdated and rigid, and this will have to change if China is to continue to add massive amounts of solar and wind energy. Another question is, how will policymakers react when the use of coal-fired power plants starts to decline significantly?
“Since 2020, they have been undertaking a comprehensive, all-out response power shortage They went through this from 2020 to 2022. China approved many new coal-fired power plants in the early years of the decade. These projects have now begun to be completed.
“So now we have a situation where demand for coal power is declining because of the emergence of clean energy, and at the same time, those brand new coal-fired power plants are starting to come on the grid.
“That will mean that the use of coal power will decline and the profitability of coal-fired power plants will decline. And then policymakers have to decide whether to start closing some of those plants or whether to stop the expansion of clean energy and give the coal industry some breathing room. Of course, that’s a very important choice.”
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