Market dynamics, innovation, and transition in China's solar photovoltaic (PV) industry: A critical review

Abstract

China's photovoltaic (PV) industry has undergone dramatic development in recent years and is now the global market leader in terms of newly added capacity. However, market diffusion and adoption in China is not ideal. This paper examines the blocking and inducement mechanisms of China's PV industry development from the perspective of technological innovation. By incorporating a Technological Innovation System (TIS) approach, the analysis performed here complements the previous literature, which has not grounded itself in a theoretical framework. In addition, to determine the current market dynamics, we closely examine market concentration trends as well as the vertical and horizontal integration of upstream and downstream actors (74.8% and 36.3%). The results of applying the TIS framework reveal that poor connectivity in networks, unaligned competitive entities and a lack of market supervision obstruct the development of China's PV industry. Therefore, we maintain that inducement mechanisms are required to instigate learning-by-doing capacities, which may help  Corresponding author. E-mail address: duhuibin@tju.edu.cn (Huibin Du). Tel: 86-22-2740-4446. overcome blocking mechanisms and offset functional innovation deficiencies. In addition, policy implications are proposed for promoting the development of the PV industry in China.

Drifting towards innovation: The co-evolution of patent networks, policy, and institutions in China’s solar photovoltaics industry

“…In 2013, China accounted for 60% of the global PV cell production [9] having more than 500 solar PV firms [8]. Together with the increasing activities in manufacturing crystalline silicon (c-Si) PV cells, there is evidence that China has gradually accumulated indigenous capabilities in advanced technologies in upstream segments of the industry [10,11,12,13,14].…”

An Empirical Study on the Efficiency and Influencing Factors of the Photovoltaic Industry in China and an Analysis of Its Influencing Factors

“…Research on the factors affecting the efficiency of the PV industry has been mainly at the economy, policy, technology, resource, market and industry scale [28]. Campisi, Morea and Farinelli (2015) [29] evaluated the expected cost of a large-sized photovoltaic (PV) system in reaching grid parity in Italy, not considering any government incentives. Branker (2011) [30] designed a model for calculating the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE).…”

The Evolution and Effect Evaluation of Photovoltaic Industry Policy in China

“…Now, the scale of China's PV industry is leading the world, and the government still strongly supports the further development of this industry. While many problems restrict the development of the industry, the main performance obstacles are a lack of a clear borders between the government and the market and industrial regulation failure [3][4][5]; difficulties in grid connection, coordination, and planning problems between PV power generation and power grid construction [5][6][7]; lack of independent innovation capability and core technology [5,6], and a lag in technical standards [8][9][10][11];…”