Renewable energy sources such as solar power, are not only being adopted by many governments in the world but also, they are investing in such resources. When it comes to controlling solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and their manufacturing, China tops the list. As noted, the vast majority of the solar panel supply chain in the world is owned by China, which is currently controlling a minimum of 75% of every single crucial stage of solar photovoltaic panel manufacture and processing.
According to the data from International Energy Agency (IEA), it has been discovered that there are significant differences in the percentages of the major phases of solar panel manufacturing that various nations and regions hold.
There are significant differences in the percentages of the major phases of solar panel manufacturing.
In each and every share of solar panel manufacturing, the nation which has the largest share in all is China, from the production of polysilicon to patching finished solar cells and even the modules into panels. The nation produced the majority of solar panels in the world even in 2010, but in the last 12 years, its average share of the solar panel supply chain has increased from 55% to 84%. China invested a total of $41 billion in the first of the present year, which is an increase of 173% from the previous one. Having made up almost two-thirds of the global large-scale investment, China tops the list of investors around the globe in these terms.
The next country that bags the leading position in solar panel manufacturing after China is India, accounting for close to 3% of solar module production and 1% of cell production. The Indian government granted an additional $2.6 billion in 2022 to its production-linked incentive programme, which supports local solar PV panel manufacture, in order to help the nation reach its goal of 280 gigawatts (GW) of installed solar power capacity by 2030 (now 57.9 GW).
Alongside, the region of Asia-Pacific has also made noteworthy amounts of solar panel manufacturing, specifically cells and modules which were made at 12.4% and 15.4%. North America and Europe make up an average of less than 3% in each and every stage of manufacturing solar panels, while both regions make the global demand for solar panels over one-third of the total demand.
The next country that bags the leading position in solar panel manufacturing after China is India.
In terms of renewable energy materials and infrastructure, there are other hurdles as well for the country other than the dominance of China over solar photovoltaic panel manufacturing. China is the world’s top producer and processor of the rare earth minerals required for the magnets that drive turbine generators, and the nation erected more offshore wind turbines in 2021 than all other nations combined over the previous five years.
According to the entire report of the organization on solar panel manufacturing, the IEA stressed the value of spreading out the world’s solar panel production capacity. The price of polysilicon has recently increased to 10-year highs as a result of unanticipated manufacturing halts in China, highlighting how dependent the rest of the world is on China for the supply of essential resources.
