Expectations in Hard Times

The development of the photovoltaic industry with exceedingly rapid growth has brought a series of challenges to photovoltaic new energy application. New conflicts and friction of the world PV market has arisen due to the 2008 global financial crisis, the continuing European debt crisis, the sluggish U.S. economic resurgence, etc. The U.S. and E.U. adopted anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures against Chinese PV products in succession (documents or reports), rendering Chinese PV industry burdened with enormous external pressure.

In terms of Chinese domestic PV market, faced with various problems accumulated over a long period of time, its development has not been as good as what was expected (photos taken from documents), despite the fact that top leadership of the central government has been actively promoting its development, the Executive Meeting of State Council even conducted research and put forward guidelines to develop distributed PV power stations (photos taken from documents) and make PV products accessible to average households (photos taken from documents), and National Development and Reform Commission as well as departments of economy, information technology, science and technology, and construction, along with State Grid Corporation have also formulated new policies to promote the development of PV industry.

Under international and domestic pressure, many PV product manufacturers are faced with the problems of product overstocking, capital shortage, employee layoff and machines out of work. Some large PV enterprises, burdened with great amount of debt, are even on the verge of bankruptcy and reorganization and now weathering hardships. (photos taken from the titles of media coverage) The well-intentioned reports of some mass media have unconsciously left the public with negative impression on Chinese PV industry.

However, it cannot alter the most fundamental factor and trend. That is: the amount of traditional fossil energy resource is gradually declining in terms of energy resource structure, while the production and utilization of traditional energy have led to increasingly severe environmental crisis. Both hydro-energy and nuclear energy have their own defects, preventing them from being further utilized and developed. Only renewable clean energy, represented by solar power generation (hydro-energy excluded), which is rich and convenient to use, is becoming gradually lower in cost, and increasingly wide and convenient in application. Therefore, we can expect a promising future of PV power generation.

Against such development background, nations around the world have all placed the development of solar power generation as the top national energy development strategy. (photos of overseas PV application) China will, without doubt, attach greater importance to the widely recognized "Strategic Emerging Industry". There are various indications that both the central and local governments are formulating better, stabler and more practical long-term policies to support PV application. Under the guidance of such policies, not only market demands will surge, but various financial measures will be adopted to focus more on PV generation industry, especially on its application. The current problem of capital shortage for the whole industry will inevitably be solved soon.

Many PV entrepreneurs and scientists firmly believe that there is no need to be pessimistic about PV industry; the top concern at present is to stay calm; we should not only tide over current difficulties by all means, but also make up for our own weakness, equip ourselves with real abilities, develop techniques and make our corporations stronger.

This is a kind of unhesitating courage, a kind of unstoppable spirit! If our corporations are equipped with such strength, we may, like Suntech Power eight years ago, take full advantage when the market resurges and present the whole world with a more prosperous Chinese PV industry.

This is our common expectation toward all fellows in PV community as well as the common wish of those who really cares about the sound development of Chinese PV new energy industry.