China's solar curb

Beijing's move to curtail solar power subsidies is far from terminal for the global market.

China's suspension of approval for new subsidised grid-scale photovoltaic (PV) solar projects has led to sharply reduced forecasts for global capacity expansion in 2018. But the longer-term outlook for the sector still looks buoyant, as costs continue to fall. The government's decision, at the end of May, came into effect in June and effectively means only projects subject to competitive bidding will be sanctioned in 2018, while feed-in tariffs have also been cut. The rationale for the move is familiar, echoing similar moves in Spain and Germany, the countries that led the solar drive in Europe. A combination of attractive subsidies and falling installation costs led to more projects being b