ABSTRACT
By the mid-2000s, China has become the largest market of solar water heaters, accounting for over 60" of global installed capacity. From the late 1960s to the 1970s, a Chinese research institute had conducted research and produced small amount of photovoltaic (PV) panels for its satellites. In 2001, Suntech Power was established with US$6 million provided by the Wuxi city government. From 2003 to 2005, Suntech contributed to more than half of all PV production in China, and the company quickly ascended to a legendary status. The "Golden Sun" program provided lump sum subsidies to PV power generation projects upon the approvals of the applications. As early as 2002, the Chinese government had included the installation of distributed PV systems in its rural electrification program, but the installed capacities were very limited. Many local governments have also implemented their rooftop PV programs with very limited success.
