How can technological innovation empower PV and energy storage industry?

Advanced photovoltaics and new energy storage are emerging industries that chase the sun and move toward green development. They are also strategic pillars for advancing the energy transition and achieving the "dual‑carbon" goals. In recent years, our province has focused on advanced photovoltaics and new energy storage, forming a complete local photovoltaic–storage (PV‑storage) industrial cluster spanning silicon wafers, photovoltaic glass, solar cells, modules and accessories, to inverters and system integration. In September 2024, the CCID Research Institute released the "2024 China PV‑Storage Industry High‑Quality Development Report and Top‑10 Provinces (Cities) by Comprehensive Competitiveness," ranking Anhui third in the country for overall PV‑storage competitiveness.

Reporters visited the plant of Chuzhou LONGi LerriSolar PV Technology Co., Ltd. Inside the factory, automated equipment runs in an orderly fashion, an AI quality‑inspection system works in real time, and trucks loaded with PV products slowly roll out to domestic and overseas markets. Company general manager Lu Shunshu told the reporter that the company invested 200 million yuan in "intelligent transformation and digital conversion." They replaced labor with machines, introduced an Andon system, and built a "lighthouse factory," boosting annual production efficiency by about 30% while achieving a 99.8% yield rate. "In the past, scheduling from material intake through production to shipment required manual work, which was costly in labor and time. Now, with one click you can clearly see everything on the control panel," Lu said.

According to commitments made at the 28th UN Climate Change Conference, global PV installed capacity is expected to reach 5,457 GW by 2030, implying an average annual new installation demand of about 500 GW. China’s cumulative PV installations have already surpassed 1,000 GW, accounting for roughly half of the world’s total. A report by the State Grid Energy Research Institute forecasts that by 2030 China’s new energy installations led by photovoltaics could exceed 3,000 GW, leaving substantial room for growth.

The policy drive to develop new energy remains unwavering. Last October, the NDRC and five other departments issued "Guiding Opinions on Vigorously Implementing Renewable Energy Substitution Actions." Our province has successively issued the "Action Plan to Enhance Innovation Capacity for Anhui’s Advanced Photovoltaic and New Energy Storage Industries (2024–2027)" and "Several Policies to Support High‑Quality Development of Advanced Photovoltaic and New Energy Storage Industrial Clusters," providing robust policy support for healthy industry development.

Currently, Chuzhou’s production of N‑type cells accounts for 100% of its output, with capacity utilization above the national average; P‑type cells have been fully phased out. TOPCon cell makers such as Jietai and SolarPlus lead the industry in conversion efficiency, and N‑type modules account for over 98% of output, outperforming the national average. Meanwhile, 27 provincial‑level innovation platforms in the PV‑storage field have been cultivated, and enterprises are being guided to iterate and upgrade technologies rapidly—accelerating research and deployment in BC, silicon–perovskite tandem, TBC and other technologies. A tiered cultivation program for specialized, refined, characteristic and innovative (i.e., "specialized and sophisticated") SMEs is being implemented to nurture the best, strengthen strong firms, pursue mergers and reorganizations, and reduce costs while increasing efficiency.

"We will also promote original innovation in key materials, core equipment and production processes, facilitate pilot testing and industrialization of innovations in Chuzhou, and roll out a series of industrial innovation projects, scientific and technological tackling projects, and collaborative innovation projects across the industrial chain—so as to deeply integrate technological and industrial innovation and seize future commanding heights," said an official from the Informatization Office of Chuzhou’s Industry and Information Technology Bureau.

Extending the industrial chain: how PV‑storage integration reshapes the industry landscape

At Trina Solar (Chuzhou) Co., Ltd. in Chuzhou Economic & Technological Development Zone, "Trina cells" are produced here, assembled into battery packs, placed into battery cabinets, and shipped around the world.

"In recent years, faced with cyclical industry adjustments, Trina Solar has been accelerating its transformation into a smart energy solutions provider. Storage is a key new growth area for the company, which is actively seeking the best ways to combine storage with photovoltaics," said general manager Zhang Chuntao. Trina Solar is among the few solar manufacturers worldwide that possess a vertically integrated chain from monocrystalline silicon ingots → wafers → cells → modules → system installation, and it is now ramping up to produce 28 GWh of storage lithium batteries per year.

As construction of the new‑type power system advances, microgrids, virtual power plants, zero‑carbon parks, and storage projects on the supply side, grid side and user side are flourishing. These can effectively increase the grid’s ability to absorb green power and also bring new opportunities for Chuzhou’s storage industry. This year, Chuzhou’s storage battery output is expected to surpass 10 GWh, a substantial increase over last year.

Expanding scenarios and markets: how the industrial ecosystem optimizes

On the roofs of eight stations, a control center and a depot along the Chuzhou section of the Chuzhou‑Nanjing intercity railway, arrays of PV panels continuously feed clean energy into the grid and to local loads, producing up to 50,000 MWh annually, saving about 3.12 million yuan in operating costs each year and reducing carbon emissions by approximately 49,800 tonnes. This is the nation’s first distributed PV project on an intercity railway, adopting low‑voltage grid connection with self‑consumption and surplus power fed to the grid—an example of Chuzhou’s ongoing efforts to expand PV‑storage application scenarios and markets and optimize the industrial ecosystem.

Facing remaining challenges such as optimization of development layout and the need to improve R&D capabilities, Chuzhou has taken the lead nationwide in enacting regulations to promote high‑quality development of the PV industry, providing a solid legal foundation to support that high‑quality development and helping to build the province’s premier city for advanced photovoltaics and new energy storage manufacturing.

Chuzhou has guided county and district authorities to optimize industrial layouts; leading firms such as LONGi, Risen, Flat Glass Group, and Jietai have achieved a 53.8% local supporting rate. A database of 70 key PV‑storage enterprises has been established to monitor project construction and capacity utilization in real time. The city issued the "Guiding Opinions on Financial Support for PV Industry Development," convened industrial chain leaders’ meetings and entrepreneurs’ breakfast meetings, and hosted more than 40 supply‑and‑demand matchmaking events to help PV companies secure nearly 1,800 mu of industrial land and disburse over 50 million yuan in preferential funds.

New scenes and business models—commercial and industrial distributed PV, building‑integrated photovoltaics, agrivoltaics, integrated PV‑storage‑charging solutions, and green power parks—are steadily expanding. Chuzhou is promoting a shift from pure PV generation toward PV‑storage coordination and integrated source‑grid‑load‑storage systems. In the first half of this year, the city’s grid‑connected PV installed capacity reached 5.3 million kW, ranking third in the province.

The city also organized more than 30 PV and lithium‑battery enterprises to attend international trade shows to help firms expand markets and secure orders, driving products out and companies abroad. In Tianchang, PV module makers stabilize sales by OEM manufacturing for large firms, cooperating with central and state‑owned enterprises, and opening overseas markets such as Africa.

Born toward the sun, moving after the light. Today our province’s PV‑storage industry has coalesced around a dual‑pole lead of Hefei and Chuzhou, with other regions developing distinctive layouts and competing to advance. With a policy "combination punch," the province is pushing for quality upgrades across the PV‑storage industry—building a cluster led by strong enterprises, with complete chains, leading technologies and a sound ecosystem for advanced photovoltaics and new energy storage advanced manufacturing.

Source: Anhui Daily