I. Strong Policy Tailwinds: Agrivoltaics Becomes a National Strategic Priority

In 2022, China’s central government issued a series of policies supporting agrivoltaics, injecting strong momentum into the PV mounting industry.

In March, the National Energy Administration (NEA) issued the Key Points of Targeted Assistance and Paired Support Work, explicitly designating PV as a priority for rural revitalisation. This policy linked clean energy development with rural economic revitalisation, laying a solid policy foundation for promoting agrivoltaic projects in rural areas.

In August, in its response to Proposal No. 04592 of the Fifth Session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the NEA stated that the 14th Five‑Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development encourages multi‑scenario integration of PV power generation, including agrivoltaic and aquavoltaic hybrid development models. By 2025, the scale of such hybrid PV development (agrivoltaics and aquavoltaics) should reach at least 10 GW. The NEA also emphasised promoting the synergistic development of solar power and ecological restoration, with the Yellow River coastal new energy base already included in 102 major projects of the national 14th Five‑Year Plan.

In October, the NEA again stated that it would work with the Ministry of Natural Resources, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, and other authorities to issue construction standards and specifications for various hybrid projects such as agrivoltaics and forestry‑PV. It would continue to improve relevant land use policies to ensure that, while strictly protecting arable land, the agricultural value of low‑yield farmland is increased, promoting the healthy and orderly development of agrivoltaics. Previously, the NEA and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration had conducted joint research missions to Ningxia and Inner Mongolia to evaluate agrivoltaic projects. The assessment concluded that agrivoltaic hybrid projects can improve the ecological environment, increase crop yields, and achieve both ecological and economic benefits.

In November, five central government departments jointly issued a document focusing on six major “PV+” directions, explicitly supporting the development of agrivoltaic, forest‑PV, aquavoltaic, and other eco‑hybrid models in scenarios such as facility agriculture, scaled planting and breeding, fishery farming, and primary agricultural product processing. They also established a distributed “PV+agriculture” complementary supply mechanism. In the same month, the five departments launched the third batch of pilot demonstrations for smart PV, again listing agrivoltaics as a key area of support.

This intensive release of policy signals demonstrated that agrivoltaics had risen from local experiments to a vital part of the national energy strategy, creating vast market space for the PV mounting industry.

II. Accelerated Technological Innovation: Flexible Mountings Become a “Game‑Changer”

In 2022, flexible PV mounting technology made breakthrough progress in agrivoltaics, becoming a key technical solution to efficiently and synergistically use land.

Flexible mountings use tensioned cables as the primary load‑bearing members, applying pre‑stress to achieve much larger spans. Compared with traditional fixed mountings, flexible mountings offer significant advantages: larger spans, higher ground clearance, fewer piles, and lower overall PV power station construction costs. They are especially suitable for valleys and hilly areas where land can be saved substantially. Flexible mountings are widely applicable to wastewater treatment plants, agrivoltaics, aquavoltaics, mountain PV, carport PV, and more.

In April 2022, industry experts clearly stated that flexible mountings are a “game‑changer” for efficient land use under the “PV+” trend. Tongwei New Energy, as a pioneer, innovatively developed a flexible mounting system with a maximum clear span of 60 metres, only 50 columns per MW, and a clearance height of up to 10 metres, providing more working space for agriculture. Tongwei’s flexible mounting technology passed the industry’s most stringent aeroelastic wind tunnel tests, ensuring system safety and no damage under wind speeds of 37.7 m/s, and its proprietary Cross‑Tie vibration suppression technology reduces vibration by up to 98%.

In September 2022, the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) held a meeting to discuss the draft group standard Technical Guidelines for the Design and Installation of Flexible PV Mountings. The standard defines terms, basic requirements, load combinations, structural systems, component design, connections and joints, foundation design, corrosion protection, and installation. The advancement of this standard laid an important foundation for the standardisation and normalisation of flexible mounting technology.

In December 2022, at the 18th China Silicon‑Based PV and PV Power Generation Symposium (CSPV), the “Large‑Span Flexible PV Mounting Technology and Multi‑Scenario Applications” sub‑forum hosted by DAS Solar concluded successfully. He Chuntao, Director of the R&D Center at DAS Solar, pointed out that DAS’s flexible mounting system effectively solves the problems of excessive land occupation and difficult dual‑use that characterise traditional PV mountings, promoting the adoption of comprehensive “PV+” projects such as agrivoltaics, forest‑PV, aquavoltaics, and pastoral PV.

Significant progress was also made in material technology in 2022. Huading New Energy signed multiple mounting supply contracts with Xinyi Solar, using zinc‑aluminium‑magnesium (ZAM) coated steel mounting solutions for high‑humidity, highly corrosive environments such as the Jiangmen Heshan agrivoltaic project. Compared with traditional hot‑dip galvanised PV mountings, ZAM‑coated mountings are about 30% lighter, offering easy processing, corrosion resistance, self‑healing of cut edges, and long service life. The application of ZAM materials significantly improves the corrosion resistance and service life of agrivoltaic mountings in complex environments.

Yang Ying, General Manager of the R&D Center at Arctech Solar, presented a recommended mounting solution for agrivoltaic and aquavoltaic projects at the OFweek Solar PV Industry Conference in November 2022: in the absence of curtailment, PV trackers are the first choice; in high‑wind areas, considering overall economics, a combination of fixed and tracking mountings can be used – fixed mountings on the periphery and trackers inside. This customised approach provides scientific guidance for selecting mountings for agrivoltaic projects under different environmental conditions.

III. Accelerated Project Construction: Agrivoltaic Projects Proliferate Nationwide

In 2022, agrivoltaic mounting installation projects advanced rapidly across China, with a number of large demonstration projects breaking ground.

In March, the Xishui Tuoluo New Energy Phase I 500 MW agrivoltaic (and aquavoltaic) project, jointly invested by SPIC Hubei and Shenzhen Topraysolar, officially began construction. The total planned investment was approximately RMB 2.7 billion, with RMB 1.6 billion to be spent in 2022 on the first 300 MW. The project’s defining feature is dual land use: high mountings keep PV panels at least 2.5 m above the ground, with a spacing of over 7 m between mounting rows, allowing planting and breeding underneath while generating power. By the end of April, nearly 2,000 experimental piles had been driven for the mounting foundations. In July, SEPCO1 Electric Power Construction Corporation won the bid to install 100 MW of mountings and modules for this project.

On 29 June, the Datang Huanglong Sancha agrivoltaic project in Huanglong County, Yan’an City, began mounting and module installation. With an installed capacity of 50 MW, planned land use of 1,650 mu (about 110 hectares), and a total investment of RMB 290 million, the project uses a “PV + large‑field cropping” model. By raising the mounting columns, the PV modules are kept 2.5 m above ground, and with larger spacing (no less than 8 m between rows), over 60% of the area between PV arrays can be used for farming, including mechanised cultivation. By 29 June, 10,624 piles (63.05% of the total) had been driven.

In June, Tongwei New Energy’s first 100 MW flexible‑mounting “aquavoltaic” project in Tianmen, Hubei Province, was completed, becoming another 100 MW‑scale all‑flexible‑mounting demonstration project. Previously, Tongwei had developed 48 “aquavoltaic” PV bases across more than 20 provinces and cities, with a grid‑connected capacity exceeding 2.7 GW.

In August, China First Metallurgical Group undertook the construction of the largest single “aquavoltaic” project in China, including mounting foundations, mounting installation, and module installation.

In November, the 150 MW “pastoral‑PV” project in Jiaxian County, Henan Province, was under accelerated construction. On barren hills, rows of steel cattle sheds were erected, with PV mounting columns replacing earth and stone piles driven into the ground as workers welded the columns.

On 29 December, the Three Gorges Energy Jiangxi Wan’an 92 MW “aquavoltaic + agrivoltaic” project achieved full grid connection. The project utilised nearly 2,000 mu of idle water surface, constructing 54 MW of “floating” aquavoltaic PV area and 38 MW of “pile‑driven” agrivoltaic area, using domestically advanced “floating” eco‑buoys as the PV mounting system. After full operation, the project will generate about 100 GWh of clean electricity annually, saving about 32,000 tonnes of standard coal and reducing CO₂ emissions by about 90,000 tonnes.

In addition, Antai New Energy supplied 175 MW of its Hunter series trackers for the first phase of a 2 GW multi‑energy complementary project in Guangxi, exploring an “agro‑PV” model where trackers are installed over land to achieve “one land, multiple uses” (agrivoltaics).

IV. Vibrant Market Activity: Mounting Tenders and Procurement Continue to Grow

In 2022, the tender and procurement market for agrivoltaic mountings was highly active, with several well‑known companies winning large mounting supply contracts.

In September, the tender for fixed steel mountings for the Huadian Shandong Feicheng Laocheng 200 MW agrivoltaic project announced its shortlisted candidates, with Jiangsu Xiri New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. ranking first with a bid of RMB 59,350,889.13.

In July, the tender for PV module mountings for the China Resources Qingyuan Qingxin Xuyang 100 MW agrivoltaic project announced its winner: PowerChina Wuhan Iron Tower Co., Ltd. with a bid of RMB 27,379,230.00.

In November, the procurement for mountings for the PowerChina Northwest Engineering Corporation Datong Chengcheng Fengyuan 300 MW agrivoltaic project was finalised. In the same month, the fixed adjustable mounting procurement for the PowerChina Northwest Engineering Corporation Datang Huayin Taoxia Taoyuan agrivoltaic project announced its winner: Jiangsu Guosheng Xingsheng Energy Technology Co., Ltd.

Also in November, the tender for flexible mountings for the 98 MW forest‑PV project in Haoping Town, Danjiangkou City, Hubei Province, announced its shortlisted candidates, with Xi’an Solargreen Energy Technology Co., Ltd. ranking first with a bid of RMB 0.2503/W. This price also reflects that flexible mountings have become highly competitive in terms of cost.

V. Global Market Expansion: China’s PV Mounting Exports Generate a Trade Surplus

In 2022, while meeting domestic demand, China’s PV mounting industry accelerated its push into global markets. China’s PV mounting production capacity reached 178.41 GW in 2022, an increase of about 16.41% year‑on‑year; domestic demand was about 65.16 GW, and net exports reached about 112.74 GW.

In terms of import/export trade, China’s exports far exceeded its imports, resulting in a large trade surplus. In 2021, the total import/export value of the PV mounting industry exceeded US$17 billion, with a trade surplus of US$16.374 billion. In the first seven months of 2022, the export price of steel PV mountings rose to US$2.19/kg. For the full year, PV product exports grew by 67.8% year‑on‑year, and PV mountings, as a core supporting product for PV power stations, played an important role in this growth.

In 2022, multiple PV mounting companies accelerated the international promotion of their “PV+agriculture” solutions. “PV+agriculture” solutions not only have a wide range of application scenarios in China but have also been exported abroad, contributing to green agriculture and clean energy. Antai New Energy, Huading New Energy, and other companies, leveraging their technical expertise and project experience in agrivoltaic mountings, actively expanded overseas markets, building a strong brand image for Chinese PV mountings globally.