On August 7, 2020, the 14th International Photovoltaic Power Generation and Smart Energy Conference & Exhibition (SNEC 2020) kicked off in Shanghai, China. Global industry leaders, academic experts, leading enterprise gathered to discuss the development of photovoltaic industry and the strategies of energy transformation.
Li Zhenguo, President of LONGi Group and Zhong Baoshen, Chairman of LONGi Group, presented keynote speeches at the Global Solar Energy Leaders Dialogue, a summit where leaders in renewable energies share insights on the development potential of solar energy technology and the road to energy transformation.
Photovoltaic +Energy Storage will be the ultimate solution for future energy and powerful weapon to confront climate issues
The development of human society requires reliable energy. Fossil fuel, mainly of petroleum and coal, has been the traditional sources of energy. However, fossil energy contributes greatly to environmental pollution, which is accelerating by the process of global development. New and clean sources of energy solutions have emerged as important issues to confront the climate crisis we face.
“Ten years ago, the price of silicon wafer is 13 dollars /piece, today it is 40 cents/piece. Ten years ago, the price of photovoltaic module is 5 dollars /watt, today it is 20 cents /watt.” Li Zhenguo, President of LONGi Group said in the keynote. “The continuous improvement of photovoltaic product performance gives us reason to believe that in the next 2-3 years, photovoltaics will become the most economical power source in most parts of the world.”
“Today, the cost of energy storage – at 10 cents/ kWh - is one-third of what it was ten years ago. With the advancement of technology, we don’t need another 10 years to reduce the current cost of energy storage by another one-third. We are certain that 'Photovoltaic + Energy Storage' will become the ultimate solution for future energy.” Li Zhenguo said.
Technology and innovation drive the unlimited potential of the photovoltaic industry
Since the beginning of this year, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on exports has forced photovoltaic manufacturing companies to accelerate the reduction of electricity costs. The pace of innovations in technologies is accelerating, and the development trend may exceed expectations. The photovoltaic industry in China is transforming from rapid to high-quality development.
The cost of power generation in areas with good sunlight resources has been as low as “0.1 yuan/kWh”. Within the next five years of continuing development, the national average power generation cost will continue to decrease, and photovoltaics can make an important contribution to the development of the national economy and energy. Today, more people have realized the cost advantage and environmental value of photovoltaics. The pace to grid parity has they have also accelerated. Photovoltaics has huge potential for expansion and application cases.
“As solar technology matures and the industry upgrades, the market is shifting from policy-driven to market-driven.” said Zhong Baoshen, Chairman of LONGi Group. “Photovoltaic enables the economy to develop with green energy, which will have a positive effect on economic activity, reduce energy and environmental costs and boost social development.”
Opportunities and Challenges: Photovoltaic industry development in the "post-pandemic era"
The global COVID-19 pandemic has affected all walks of life to varying degrees. LONGi strives to maintain stable development in this challenging environment. “The pandemic will not dampen our confidence in promoting photovoltaic applications and our determination to accelerate the energy transition.” Zhong Baoshen, Chairman of LONGi Group said: “The COVID-19 pandemic overseas has affected our production in April, but we will adjust quickly and recover. There is no change to our production layout, product competitiveness, construction goals and shipment estimates this year.”
According to the estimate of CPIA, there will be 18 or more “GW-level” countries in 2020. As more countries embrace the vigorous development of photovoltaic power generation, global photovoltaic installations continue to grow and are expected to reach 200GW by 2025.
With breakthroughs in PERC technology, bifacial power generation, photovoltaic + energy storage, photovoltaic application scenarios will continue to expand. Distributed photovoltaic power generation has become the mainstream of photovoltaic development. The energy transformation in different countries will become a global consensus, and photovoltaic is expected to propel the energy transformation.