No Wonder Chinese Solar Panels Are Cheap!
Talk About Production Volume!
Check out these vast Chinese solar farms.
(Almost) As Far as the Eye Can See.
"Cover the hills with solar panels:" Xi
MASSIVE PRODUCTION: In2023, China installations of renewable energy included adding 216 gigawatts of solar capacity. 216 gigawatts added in one year are more than the total of all solar power in the United States. Whew!
That's roughly 900 million (check my arithmetic) panels, manufactured annually in China,
My favorite American solar manufacturer is Qcells. Their annual output is about 6 gigawatts. And that's 30% of the total American manufacturing capacity.
In 2021, China's solar panel manufacturing capacity was estimated to be around 160 GW! Now that capacity and new sales barriers (tarriffs) plus murderous competitive urges have resulting in huge dumps at prices nobody can match. They've wiped out several western panal manufacturfers - thus the tarriffs.*
ALL IN ON THE LONG HAUL
I'm 100% in favor of building up the U.S.'s solar panel manufacturing capacity, but we've got a LONG WAY TO GO to match China. C'mon, federal government (EERE), get with the program and help build the most modern, most automated solar factories on the planet. Stat!
After all, it's the future.
*[My solution to the dumping problem is that the Feds buy them out at their ridiculously low prices and let our domestic panel makers "refurbish" them and resell them at a bargain (but profitable) price. Everybody but China wins. Sly, no?]
REDUX ...from 7 years in the deep past.
My long simmering concern about being skunked by China:
WAY faster than most of us believe, the Chinese are sprinting
***
You may have perceived that I have much concern about the Chinese threat to America's commercial and military technical leadership in the world. We hardly hear about this from either corporate or governmental U.S. leadership, certainly not in the "news."
OK, maybe it is the fault of The Press, and we peons just don't get to hear what's happening in boardrooms and backrooms on the issue. Perhaps our leaders are up to their necks in this kind of concern, and since it doesn't involve the Kardashians we never hear about it. Thanks, Press.
Self-Driving Cars? Intelligent refrigerators? Pfiddle. The Chinese have higher ambitions. The same company that introduced China's competitor for the Boeing 737-Max and the Airbus A350 Neo, Comac, is planning future dominance. Along with Chinese space station plans and super-secure communications efforts and breakthroughs in hypersonics, they are showing they can perform as well as they talk. Check this out:
For the future, Comac is investigating new propulsion systems; new structures; unconventional configurations; supersonic speed; and new energy sources, Shi said. It is also considering the use of Big Data, and a concept called the “intelligent aircraft.” They are not saying when an aircraft incorporating the technologies may appear.
The ginormous aircraft biz is not the only humongoid area to keep your eye on, either.
For sure Germans are thinking about China's commercial threat to their powerful industries. Have you seen this headline?
And why did this happen? Germany is heavily committed to solar.
Ever heard of Trina solar? It's the biggest solar panel producer in the world. Six of the top 10 panel producer are Chinese.
I should. The Chinese are not The Invincibles. America is extraordinary at competing. At least historically. And I'll keep reporting anything that startles me.
*Business Insider
** WUWT
*** Su Bingtian challenging Usain Bolt
***You may have perceived that I have much concern about the Chinese threat to America's commercial and military technical leadership in the world. We hardly hear about this from either corporate or governmental U.S. leadership, certainly not in the "news."
OK, maybe it is the fault of The Press, and we peons just don't get to hear what's happening in boardrooms and backrooms on the issue. Perhaps our leaders are up to their necks in this kind of concern, and since it doesn't involve the Kardashians we never hear about it. Thanks, Press.
Self-Driving Cars? Intelligent refrigerators? Pfiddle. The Chinese have higher ambitions. The same company that introduced China's competitor for the Boeing 737-Max and the Airbus A350 Neo, Comac, is planning future dominance. Along with Chinese space station plans and super-secure communications efforts and breakthroughs in hypersonics, they are showing they can perform as well as they talk. Check this out:
Comac Foresees A Future Of ‘Intelligent Aircraft’
May 12, 2017 | Aviation Daily
For the future, Comac is investigating new propulsion systems; new structures; unconventional configurations; supersonic speed; and new energy sources, Shi said. It is also considering the use of Big Data, and a concept called the “intelligent aircraft.” They are not saying when an aircraft incorporating the technologies may appear.
The ginormous aircraft biz is not the only humongoid area to keep your eye on, either.
For sure Germans are thinking about China's commercial threat to their powerful industries. Have you seen this headline?
Germany's Solar Industry Is In Trouble As Its Biggest Company Goes Bankrupt *
And why did this happen? Germany is heavily committed to solar.
"The company once hailed as Europe’s largest solar panel producer filed for bankruptcy Wednesday, blaming cheap Chinese panels for flooding the market. SolarWorld is only the latest bankrupt solar company to blame the Chinese."**
Ever heard of Trina solar? It's the biggest solar panel producer in the world. Six of the top 10 panel producer are Chinese.
...Chinese, of course.
I've heard local solar salesmen dismiss the Chinese panels as "crap." Not. And dismissing competitors is not a sustainable way to compete. This kind of attitude worries the poo out of me, and I see it all around. Self delusion is rarely a good thing. Right up there with denialism.
LIGHTEN UP, SCOOTER
*Business Insider
** WUWT
*** Su Bingtian challenging Usain Bolt
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