No electricity wireless solar on-site energy prices

We reveal that all of these cities can achieve—without subsidies—solar PV electricity prices lower than grid-supplied prices, and around 22% of the cities' solar generation electricity prices can compete with desulfurized coal benchmark electricity prices.

The cost of solar PV electricity generation is affected by many local factors, making it a challenge to understand whether China has reached the threshold at which a grid-connected solar PV system supplies electricity to the end user at the same price as grid-supplied power or the price of desulfurized coal electricity, or even lower.

Although solar photovoltaic use grows rapidly in China, comparison with grid prices is difficult as photovoltaic electricity prices depend on local factors. Using prefecture-level data, Yan et al. find that 100% of user-side systems can achieve grid parity, while 22% can produce electricity cheaper than coal-based power plants.

Additionally, the cost of solar PV power generation was CNY5.6–15.1 kWh −1 in 2000, which fell to CNY0.29–0.79 kWh −1 in 2018, with an average annual decrease of CNY0.28–0.75 kWh −1 (Fig. 1). Technological progress sheds light on less expensive and more commercially viable solar systems, and increases the competitiveness of the solar PV market.

Today, in all of the cities studied, the solar PV costs have decreased to a point where they are competitive with market prices, and 22% of them can compete with the costs of traditional forms of energy. Around 83% of the cities have achieved an IRR higher than 8%, and 67% of the cities' DPBPs are <15 years.

As energy prices soar, ESG continues to grow in importance, and 5G's increased power demands loom, a number of cell tower owners and telco operators are looking at deploying wind and solar power generation systems at the cell sites themselves.