The sun shines on solar photovoltaics as an energy source

Ti Gong

According to insiders, photovoltaics is expected to soon surpass thermal power to become the world’s largest energy source amid an unwavering push for a green transition.

The world’s installed photovoltaic power capacity will reach 490-550 gigawatts in 2024, which will soon be equal to thermal power, said Zhu Gongshan, president of the Global Green Energy Industry Council, during the 17th (2024) International Photovoltaic Power Generation and Smart Energy Conference and Exhibition .

According to the International Energy Agency’s “Renewables 2023” report, there was a sharp shift in renewable capacity expansion in 2023, driven by the Chinese solar market.

“China’s acceleration has been remarkable,” the report said. In 2023, China ordered as much photovoltaic energy as the entire world in 2022.

According to the report, the global energy mix will transform by 2028, when solar PV and wind will account for 95% of the global expansion of renewable energy sources. Moreover, it is estimated that in 2026 photovoltaic energy will exceed nuclear energy production.

Ti Gong

Among solar cells, TOPCon, or tunnel oxide passivated contact, is generally considered to be the mainstream because it represents a more efficient technology.

A series of new products debuted at the fair, including advanced TOPCon n-type solar cells developed by the domestic industrial tycoon SANY Silicon Energy Co.

Test service provider TÜV Rheinland found it was able to reduce balancing of system (BOS) costs by 2 percent and reduce levelized costs of electricity (LCOE) by 2.3 percent.

In addition, Sany signed contracts on stage for a total capacity of 2.3 gigawatts.

The three-day fair, which ended on Saturday in Shanghai, was the largest in scale as it attracted more than 3,500 exhibitors from 95 countries and regions. Almost 30 percent of exhibitors came from abroad.