China's PV Market in H1 2024: Distributed Systems Drive Growth with Regional Disparities

General Overview

In the first half of 2024, China's PV installation market showed a steady growth trend. Centralized and distributed PV accounted for 48% and 52% of new installations, respectively, demonstrating strong growth in distributed PV. Specifically, new centralized PV installations reached 49.60 GW, a year-on-year increase of 32.4%, while distributed PV installations hit 52.88 GW, a year-on-year increase of 29.1%.

Performance by Type

Centralized PV: New installations in the first half were mainly concentrated in provinces such as Xinjiang, Yunnan, and Inner Mongolia, where abundant wind and solar resources spurred the rapid development of large-scale ground-mounted power plants. Xinjiang led the nation with 9.32 GW of new installations, followed by Yunnan and Inner Mongolia with 6.08 GW and 3.94 GW, respectively. The top ten provinces in centralized PV installations contributed a total of 36.34 GW, accounting for 73% of the national total for centralized PV.

Distributed PV: Despite challenges such as grid connection issues and policy adjustment expectations, distributed PV still exhibited robust market activity. Jiangsu, Shandong, and Zhejiang led the country in new distributed PV installations, with 9.48 GW, 4.78 GW, and 4.75 GW, respectively. The top ten provinces in distributed PV installations contributed a total of 40.15 GW, accounting for 76% of the national total for distributed PV.

Residential PV: As an important part of distributed PV, residential PV faced some demand weakness in the first half, with new installations totaling 15.85 GW, a year-on-year decrease of 26.4%. Jiangsu, Anhui, and Shandong were the main regions for residential PV installations, with 5.05 GW, 1.92 GW, and 1.38 GW of new capacity, respectively.
Commercial and Industrial PV: In contrast, commercial and industrial (C&I) PV showed stronger growth, with new installations reaching 37.03 GW, a year-on-year increase of 90.5%. Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Guangdong were the hotspots for C&I PV installations, adding 4.43 GW, 4.16 GW, and 3.6 GW, respectively, mainly driven by high demand from their well-developed industrial and commercial sectors.
Quarterly Analysis

In the second quarter of 2024, the PV installation market continued its growth trend. Centralized PV added 27.67 GW, a year-on-year increase of 26.1%, while distributed PV added 29.07 GW, a year-on-year increase of 27%. Within distributed PV, residential PV added 8.93 GW, a year-on-year decrease of 28.6%, while C&I PV continued its high growth, with 20.14 GW of new installations, a year-on-year increase of 95.2%.

Regional Distribution

In terms of regional distribution, Jiangsu, Xinjiang, and Guangdong ranked among the top for new PV installations in the first half of 2024, with 10.75 GW, 9.33 GW, and 7.53 GW, respectively. The top ten provinces accounted for a total of 65.98 GW of new installations, representing 64% of the national total, further highlighting the regional concentration of the PV installation market.

In summary, the PV installation market in China in the first half of 2024 exhibited diversified development, with distributed PV, especially C&I PV, becoming the main driver of growth. At the same time, regional disparities and distinctive features became more pronounced.

Source：https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/83jQJ-jEKDUief4aweJO3g