"In 2022, our cumulative global shipments of PV modules exceeded 120 GW. Encouragingly, our large-capacity liquid-cooled energy storage cabinets have won full recognition from customers in the UK," Gao Jifan, Chairman of Trina Solar Co., Ltd., stated in his 2023 New Year message recently.

Over the past year, PV foreign trade enterprises including Trina Solar have fueled the robust export growth of the industry, demonstrating the strong momentum behind the booming overseas market for Chinese PV products.

Last year, the Ukraine crisis drove up energy prices sharply, prompting countries worldwide to place far greater emphasis on renewable energy, which led to a substantial year-on-year surge in China’s PV exports. Statistics show that China’s exports of PV products (silicon wafers, solar cells and modules) topped USD 50 billion in 2022, rising 72.9% year on year. Zhang Sen, Secretary-General of the Solar PV Products Branch under the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, noted that strong market demand in Europe, India, Brazil and other regions constituted the major driver of the dramatic export growth of Chinese PV products.

Impressive Export Performance in Emerging Markets

Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand emerged as key destination countries for China’s silicon wafer exports over the past year. Data indicates China’s silicon wafer exports to these three nations totaled USD 3.58 billion in 2022, jumping 95.6% year on year and accounting for 70.9% of China’s total silicon wafer export volume. Turkey, India, Cambodia, Thailand and the Republic of Korea ranked as the top five export markets for Chinese solar cells, absorbing three-quarters of the country’s cell exports. The Netherlands, Brazil and Spain were the three largest markets for Chinese PV modules, taking up 46% of total module exports.

Chinese PV products achieved remarkable export results in emerging markets such as the Americas and the United Arab Emirates. In 2022, China shipped 24.8 GW of PV modules to the Americas, a 50% year-on-year increase, with Brazil contributing the bulk of the growth. Exports to the UAE hit approximately 3.4 GW, surging more than 300% year on year, making the UAE China’s largest module export destination in the Middle East. China exported 1.2 GW of PV modules to Saudi Arabia in 2022, registering a sharp increase compared with 2021.

Continuous Expansion of Industrial Scale

China’s PV product exports face ample development opportunities in 2023. "On one hand, amid the global drive for climate action, energy transition and low-carbon development, over 130 countries worldwide have set net-zero or carbon neutrality targets. Countries have rolled out carbon emission reduction roadmaps and carbon certification frameworks, ushering in a golden development period for new energy sectors including photovoltaics. On the other hand, the energy crisis triggered by the Ukraine conflict together with extreme weather events will accelerate the growth of renewable energy," Zhang Sen explained.

Numerous research institutions have upwardly revised their forecasts for renewable energy installed capacity, signaling continuous expansion of the PV industry in the years ahead. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that global renewable energy capacity will grow by 2,400 GW from 2022 to 2027, overtaking coal as the world’s primary power source. In 2022, SolarPower Europe (SPE) released its Energy Independence Proposal, outlining eight measures to deliver terawatt-scale PV deployment. It raised Europe’s projected PV installed capacity target for 2030 from 672 GW to 1,000 GW, with annual new additions expected to range between 90 GW and 100 GW.

Zhang Sen forecasts sustained growth in China’s PV product export volume in 2023, with Q1 export growth likely to stay between 30% and 40%, and full-year growth projected at 40% to 50%.

How will Chinese PV foreign trade enterprises capitalize on these new opportunities? Zhang Sen advised companies to prioritize innovation to sharpen core competitiveness, formulate comprehensive international intellectual property strategies, build extensive global supply and service networks, establish green low-carbon certification and ESG systems at an early stage, attach importance to compliance and sustainable development, and actively integrate into the new development paradigm.