China boosts solar energy target to 17.8GW

China has upped its 2015 solar power target from 15GW to 17.8GW – which compares to the 12GW installed last year (the US installed 7.3GW) – with the giant hoping distributed solar photovoltaic can drive the bulk of the increase, Bloomberg News reports.

China last year aimed for a target of 14-15GW, but fell short after less-than-expected takeup of distributed solar.

Bloomberg said China’s new target, published on the National Energy Administration’s website yesterday, could an extra $US4.3bn of investment in the sector with Chinese solar stock prices responding positively to the news yesterday.

Yin Lei, a Shenzhen-based analyst at China Merchants Securities, said told the news service the new target would spur installations of distributed solar which Beijing has beenpromoting since 2013.

China is targeting a more than tripling of its solar power capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission said last last year.