China’s status as a world power is undeniable. As the whole issue of energy crisis acquired a demonic proportion with each passing day, all eyes turn towards the gigantic manufacturing nations, and China attracts a lot of attention in all such discussions.

Solar energy makes a vital part of the energy plans of China, but the stress appears to be more on the commercial value of solar energy rather than the environmental impact that one generally associates with a green energy form such as solar energy. China would definitely feature in the top five lists of the world’s solar panel and cell manufacturing countries. But the fact that only one or two percent of the produce is retained for use in the country is a cause of concern. There are two ways of looking at this situation. For some, China plays the role of a supplier of solar energy based equipment to the world. Others contend that China would be better off stressing upon the need for its own industries to take to clean energy forms rather than using solar energy as a merely profit making market. All said and done, there is no denying the fact that China has a major role in creating sufficient supply of solar equipment for the world.

China’s Energy Ministry is also in pursuit of a solution to the imminent energy crisis. The recent policies regarding simplification of approval grants to solar power projects seem to be steps in the right direction. On similar lines, the process of setting up power plants based on conventional means such as fossil fuels has become difficult. This is an obvious attempt to divert people and organizations towards solar energy and other environment friendly energy forms through the provision of economic enablers in the form of subsidies and incentives.

Programs like ‘Golden Sun’ also work towards popularizing the concept of solar energy. Granting subsidies to people who install solar power systems at their homes is also a step in the right direction, and has already given favorable results. The offsetting of installation costs associated with large scale solar power plants through increased responsibility on other well settled sectors like construction and finance also promises to rope in more and more households into the list of solar powered ones.

The research programs in the country are in hot pursuit of success as regards the triple-junction thin-film silicon cell structure of solar cells, which would improve the conversion efficiency of the solar cells. Another important aspect of the whole solar energy situation in China is the problem of excess polysilicon production. The derivatives and by-products of polysilicon manufacturing are polluting and poisonous. Chinese industries have failed to keep a tab on the pollution caused by polysilicon production, and this has posed a valid question mark. The recent future is expected to clarify the Chinese stand on the scheme of things as far as clean energy forms in general and solar energy in particular are concerned.

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