Falling solar production costs give China ‘enormous’ advantage over rivals — report

The cost of producing solar modules in China has dropped by 42% in the last 12 months to $0.15 per watt, which, according to a new report from Wood Mackenzie, is giving manufacturers in the country an enormous cost advantage over international rivals.

The report titled ‘Top of the charts: ‘Five low-carbon tech trends worth tracking’ looks at five key charts and identifies some key underlying trends across the low-carbon landscape.

Alongside the fall in Chinese solar hardware costs, the report also examines the meteoric rise of renewable energy, the efforts being made to diversify battery raw materials supply, the progress of carbon capture and storage and the growth of domestic heat pumps.

“With delegates at COP28 making a commitment to phase out fossil fuels, these five charts highlight the vital importance of all facets of the energy transition process,” said Dr. Steven Knell, VP power & renewables at Wood Mackenzie, who co-authored the report. “The charts (in the report) show the progress that is being made, but also underline how much still needs to be done.”

The report also states that policy is widening to support the build-out of domestic supply chains for low-carbon technologies and to develop new sources of critical minerals to reduce global dependence on China. While in some cases such as Chinese solar module production, costs are coming down, in others they will remain high.

“The charts contained in the report indicate the global scale of the energy transition process and identifies some of the challenges,” added Malcolm Forbes-Cable, VP upstream and carbon management consulting, another co-author.

“With $70 billion needed to be invested in global CCUS (carbon capture, utilization and storage) transport and sequestration infrastructure before 2030, the financial implications alone will require global solutions.”