China to push for fourfold increase in solar production by 2020

A senior Chinese official speaking to the government’s news agency on Tuesday said that the country will increase its solar capacity from 35.8 gigawatts to 150 gigawatts by 2020. The push would represent a fourfold increase in solar power generation for China, which is already the biggest producer of solar in the world.  The capacity would increase annually by 20 gigawatts. Last year China added 13 gigawatts of solar power in the country.

Huai Jinpeng, deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said the government will encourage mergers and acquisitions to accelerate the solar industry’s growth in China.

The announcement comes just a few weeks after Chinese President Xi Jinping revealed his plan to launch a national emission trading system in 2017, covering key industries including power generation.