China will add 619GW of solar power by 2030, say analysts

The report said that solar power capacity in Asia Pacific will be tripled to 1.5 terawatts (TW) in the next 10 years. China’s solar targets mean it will contribute over 60% of Asia Pacific’s solar capacity by 2030.

Meanwhile, India will add the second largest amount of solar during the same period, followed by Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and Australia. Japan is predicted to add 63GW capacity of solar power in 10 years while South Korea will add 58GW in the same period.

The report said the Indonesian market will be the fastest growing, from 300 megawatts (MW) to 8.5 gigawatts (GW) in 10 years' time. In 2020 the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $600 million loan to help Indonesia’s state-owned power company Perusahaan Listrik Negara to expand electricity access.

According to the report, by 2030 51% of new installs in the top 10 Asia Pacific solar photovoltaic (PV) markets will be distributed solar due to land constraints and improving competitiveness against rising tariffs.

John Yeap of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law, said: “It is not surprising that the largest economies in the region will be driving the largest capacity growths. As all responsible nations look to decarbonise and meet their Paris commitments, the ambition is to be welcomed. The scale of the ambition is of course quite significant which in turn suggests some of the known impediments in some of these jurisdictions, ranging from operational issues such as grid curtailment to regulatory issues such as the robustness and finance ability of the sector, will need to be addressed in tandem with such growth ambitions.”

“There is probably limited doubt that whilst we await the effective commercialisation of new scaleable low or no carbon energy production sources, solutions involving thorium or hydrogen perhaps, solar will continue to be a vital and indispensable part of the energy transition agenda for many of the nations in this region,” he said.