Rush to cash in on new PV power tariff in Qinghai
Shanghai. July 28. INTERFAX-CHINA - Photovoltaic (PV) project developers are scrambling to commission new power plants in northwest China's Qinghai Province to take advantage of opportunistic power prices, a local official told Interfax July 27.
The Qinghai government earlier this month informed several local companies that PV power stations that go on-line by Sept. 30 will enjoy on-grid power tariffs of RMB 1.15 ($0.18) per kilowatt hour (kWh), China Business Journal reported July 2. The policy has still yet to be made public.
Power tariffs in China are usually set on a case-by-case basis, but local governments sometimes set standard tariffs for electricity from certain sources in a bid to stimulate development in these sectors. On-grid power tariffs for coal-generated electricity typically run between RMB 0.30 ($0.05) and RMB 0.40 ($0.06).
The report was confirmed by Sha Shengming, head of the Qinghai Provincial Economic Commission's Industry Guiding Department, who told Interfax that the news has precipitated a rush among project developers to get PV stations up and running by the deadline.
He added that 19 PV projects with a total installed capacity of 300 MW are slated for completion by Sept. 30.
State-run Xinhua news agency reported July 27 that the Qinghai-arm of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has approved 38 PV power stations this year, five of which have gone on-line - at a total installed capacity of 56-megawatts (MW).
Besides Qinghai, only Shandong and Jiangsu provinces currently set standard power tariffs for PV-derived electricity. Local media in Shandong reported July 20 the province had set a tariff of RMB 1.30 ($0.20) per kWh for PV stations established next year. The province set a tariff of RMB 1.70 ($0.26) for stations set up last year, and RMB 1.4 ($0.22) for those established this year, Interfax previously reported.