I. Large-Scale PV Projects Grid-Connected, Innovative Models Emerge

Largest Wind-Solar-Storage Integration Project in Northern China Completed

On July 24, 2022, the 150 MW wind-solar complementary "PV+" project of Datang Jilin Shengyuan Taonan Xiangyang was successfully connected to the grid, marking the completion and operation of the largest wind-solar-storage integration project in northern China. Located in Taonan City, Jilin Province, the project has a total capacity of 1,150 MW, including 1,000 MW of wind power and 150 MW of solar PV. It is equipped with a 7.5 MW/7.5 MWh lithium iron phosphate battery energy storage system. The average annual power generation is about 3.6 billion kWh, saving 1.18 million tons of standard coal and reducing CO₂ emissions by 2.92 million tons per year.

World's First Far-Reaching Offshore Wind-Solar Floating PV Pilot Project Generates Power

On October 31, 2022, the 500 kW far-reaching offshore floating PV pilot project of SPIC's Shandong Peninsula South No. 3 offshore wind farm (20 MW) successfully generated power, becoming the world's first operational far-reaching offshore wind-solar co-located floating PV project. Located in the sea area south of Haiyang City, Shandong Province, 30 km offshore at a water depth of 30 meters and extreme wave height of 10 meters, the project validated the wind and wave resistance of floats, mooring systems, and power generation components, as well as marine environmental durability, setting a benchmark for large-scale offshore floating PV.

China's First Tidal-Solar Complementary Smart PV Station Grid-Connected

On May 30, 2022, the Wenling Tidal-Solar Complementary Smart PV Station of China Energy's Longyuan Power achieved full-capacity grid connection. This is China's first innovative project that integrates solar and tidal energy. With a total installed capacity of 100 MW, the station generates over 100 million kWh annually, meeting the household electricity demand of about 30,000 urban residents and reducing CO₂ emissions by more than 84,000 tons each year.

Second Largest Floating PV Station in China Grid-Connected

On December 31, 2022, the 202 MW large-scale reservoir PV project of CHN Energy Liaocheng Power Generation Co., Ltd. was connected to the grid, becoming the second largest floating PV station in China. With a total investment of RMB 960 million, the project utilizes over 4,400 mu (approx. 293 hectares) of idle reservoir surface, installing more than 370,000 PV modules. It is expected to generate 220 million kWh annually and was completed and grid-connected in less than six months from construction start.

Oil Giants Accelerate PV Deployment

Several state-owned oil companies actively advanced PV projects in 2022. The largest floating PV project of PetroChina – the Jidong Oilfield distributed self-consumption PV power project – achieved partial grid connection in December. It has a capacity of 40.97 MW, saving 16,600 tons of standard coal annually. PetroChina's first wind-solar-storage integrated development project in Daqing Oilfield was also grid-connected, with an initial phase of 4,115 PV modules. The 9.85 MW distributed PV project of Zhongyuan Oilfield was fully grid-connected in July, bringing its total green power capacity to 17.52 MW.

II. County-Wide Rooftop Distributed PV Accelerates Across China

In 2022, the national pilot program for county-wide rooftop distributed PV development entered an accelerated implementation phase. As of June 2022, pilot areas across the country had registered a total installed capacity of 66.15 GW in the planning stage, with 21.84 GW already grid-connected.

Starting in March, procurement and tendering for these pilot projects surged, with cumulative procurement exceeding 3 GW, involving more than 10 provinces and regions including Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi, and Jiangsu. State-owned enterprises, central government-owned companies, and local governments were the main tendering entities.

Many county-wide projects made significant progress in 2022. Phase I of the Yiliang County (Yunnan Province) rooftop distributed PV project was completed and put into operation, becoming the first among Yunnan's 28 national pilot counties to achieve this. The Yuanmou County rooftop PV project was completed and grid-connected in December, with a total investment of RMB 1 billion and an installed capacity of about 200 MW. The Qiongjie County (Tibet) rooftop PV demonstration project started construction in November, planning to build rooftop PV stations at 18 sites. The first rooftop of the Zhenyuan County (Guizhou Province) PV project was successfully grid-connected, making it the first among 13 pilot counties in Guizhou to achieve grid connection.

Among large-scale county-wide projects, Sunrise East won the EPC contract for Huaneng's Guannan County (Jiangsu Province) rooftop distributed PV project, with a total contract value of RMB 749 million. This project was the largest single county-wide promotion project in China in 2022, covering the most complete roof types. The 280.47 MW county-wide rooftop distributed PV pilot project in Liucheng County, Guangxi, broke ground in May. Once fully completed and operational, it will reduce CO₂ emissions by 230,000 tons annually.

On the policy front, many regions across China introduced distributed PV subsidies in 2022. Haiyan County in Zhejiang Province issued a work plan for the county-wide PV pilot, offering a one-time investment subsidy of RMB 0.2 per watt for residential rooftop PV projects. As of early 2022, 19 regions in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Beijing, Shaanxi, Guangdong and other provinces continued to provide distributed PV subsidies, continuously driving the development of the distributed PV market.

III. Offshore PV Gains Momentum

2022 was a pivotal year for large-scale offshore PV development. Shandong Province competitively allocated 10 offshore PV projects with a total capacity of 11.25 GW and an estimated total investment of approximately RMB 67.5 billion. The project sites are mainly located in coastal areas of Binzhou, Dongying, Weifang, Yantai, Weihai, and Qingdao. Shandong's "Offshore PV Construction Action Plan" proposed two ten-million-kilowatt-level offshore PV bases – the "Bohai Sea Rim" and the "Yellow Sea Coast" – with a total planned capacity of 23.6 GW.

Chint New Energy, in partnership with China Power, won the development rights for the 850 MW offshore pile-based project in Wudi, Binzhou, Shandong, pushing offshore PV further into deeper waters. GCL System Integration's submersible, high-reliability floating modules contributed to the world's first far-reaching "wind-solar co-located" integrated project.

IV. N-Type Cell Technology Enters Mass Production Year

2022 is regarded as the first year of mass production for N-type cells, as technological iteration accelerated in the PV industry. According to the Securities Times, domestic planned N-type cell capacity exceeded 640 GW, about 1.83 times the existing Chinese PV cell production capacity in 2021. Specifically for TOPCon cells, capacity reached 77.4 GW by the end of 2022, a nearly sevenfold increase year-on-year.

LONGi Green Energy achieved multiple technological breakthroughs in 2022. In November, LONGi launched new high-efficiency modules incorporating HPBC cell technology, with maximum mass-production efficiency reaching 22.8%. In the same year, LONGi's self-developed silicon heterojunction cell achieved a conversion efficiency of 26.81%, setting a new world record for silicon-based solar cell efficiency.

JinkoSolar announced in January that its high-efficiency N-type TOPCon cell production line in Anhui Province had officially started production, with Phase I planning 8 GW of high-efficiency N-type TOPCon cells and an average mass-production efficiency of 24.5%. Many PV companies announced large-scale TOPCon capacity expansions in 2022, including Zhonglai Optoelectronics, Jietai, and Runyang.

V. 2022 PV Installations Hit a New Record High

In February 2023, the National Energy Administration (NEA) released data showing that new installed capacity of wind and solar power in China in 2022 exceeded 120 GW, reaching 125 GW, marking the third consecutive year of exceeding 100 GW and setting a new record high. New renewable energy capacity for the year reached 152 GW, accounting for 76.2% of the country's total new power generation capacity, making it the main driver of new power capacity additions.

Specifically for PV, new grid-connected PV capacity in 2022 reached 87.4 GW, including 36.29 GW of utility-scale PV and 51.11 GW of distributed PV (of which 25.26 GW was residential rooftop PV). As of the end of 2022, cumulative grid-connected PV capacity nationwide reached 392.04 GW. For the first time, distributed PV surpassed utility-scale PV, with residential PV adding 25.26 GW, becoming a major growth engine for PV installations.

Deputy Director-General Wang Dapeng of the NEA's Department of New and Renewable Energy stated at a press conference that renewable energy installed capacity exceeded 1,200 GW in 2022, reaching 1,213 GW, accounting for 47.3% of the country's total installed power generation capacity, an increase of 2.5 percentage points from 2021. Solar power installed capacity reached 393 GW.