Canadian Solar Inc and Ningxia Electric Power Group have announced the completion and connection of a 10MW solar project in Honsibao, Ningxia in China. The new project is set to generate 13 million KWh. The project was constructed and funded by Ningxia Power Group. Canadian Solar's joint venture company Gaochuangte New Energy acted as the EPC contractor.

Canadian Solar recently announced that it is to sell nine solar projects in Canada worth approximately $500 million. Canadian Solar intends to be a presence in China in the coming years, as it continues to develop its PV power market.

China has over 400 solar PV companies which produce over 23% of the PV products globally. The number of grid connected large scale PV installations has increased in the country. It has been witnessed that the proportion of on-grid installations in the total annual installed capacity has risen over the years. The grid connected installations were 477 MW in 2010.

China is one of the leaders in the production of PV cells and modules but lag in the number of PV installations. Although the country has witnessed growth in the PV sector, still in terms of PV installations the country has a small share of 4% of the global PV installations as the country ships over 96% of its production to overseas market. The shipment level has increased almost 8 times from the level of 1088 MW in 2007 to 8000 MW in 2010.

The country has a moderate capacity utilization ratio of 53% in terms of output of polysilicon material. China generated 45,000 tons of polysilicon wafers in 2010 comparative to the capacity of 85,000 tons. The market is currently dominated by the multi-crystalline and single crystalline technology. About 11 GW of solar cells were produced in 2010.

Rural electrification was the largest application of PV systems in China. Almost 50% of solar PV installations are utilized for electrifying the rural areas. With more emphasis by government on the BIPV segment, its share of 17.5% in 2010 is likely to increase in the coming years. Communication and Industrial Applications, Small solar PV appliances and ground based large scale PV power plants are other segments where PV installed capacity are utilized.

Electricity demand in China has grown at a rapid pace in the past. It was registered at 2,783 TWh in 2010 with solar PV contributing approximately around 0.20%. It is expected that in 2011, total electricity demand will increase to 2,914 TWh while solar PV market share in the electricity consumption will increase to 0.24%.