China's top energy agency has asked local authorities to build up the domestic solar industry as solar manufacturers in Europe submitted a new anti-subsidies complaint against China. In the complaint, EU ProSun, a group of European solar equipment manufacturers, asked the European Commission to look into whether Chinese State banks and the central government offered support that was illegal under World Trade Organization rules, the New York Times reported Tuesday.
The EU accused China earlier this month of dumping solar panels in its market, but no final decision has been made so far on what kind of penalties will be imposed. "The new move is within expectations since the EU companies will follow the US steps," Lin Boqiang, director of the Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times. The US Department of Commerce announced a preliminary decision on its website in May to impose anti-dumping duties of up to 250 percent and anti-subsidies duties of up to 5 percent on solar products imported from China. The final determination is expected to be released in October.
Lin said Chinese authorities need to boost consumption of photovoltaic products domestically amid continuous conflict with the US and EU. Solar power is used on a small scale in China, mainly because the cost of solar electricity is much higher than other polluting energy sources. The National Energy Administration has asked local authorities to submit plans to use solar energy domestically during the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-15) by October 15, Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday. Each province needs to report three plans at most with the total installed capacity not exceeding 500,000 kilowatts, Xinhua reported.
Upgrading the business model is also in urgent need. "We will expand our businesses to more areas like design and operation of photovoltaic power plants, rather than just focusing on solar panel production," Wang Zhixin, director of communications department at Yingli Green Energy Holdings Co, a leading domestic solar panel manufacturer, told the Global Times. Wang said Yingli will set its sights on both domestic and foreign markets in the future. Lin of Xiamen University appealed for international negotiations to solve the current trade conflict, warning that otherwise no country will benefit in the end.