I. Introduction to Wuxi's Photovoltaic Industry

Wuxi is a significant base for the photovoltaic industry in China. Historically, the focus was mainly on the production of battery - components, but the industry has been undergoing a transformation to integrate downstream operations. Photovoltaic power station construction is a vital step in this direction, aiming to balance the product mix and respond to the call for clean energy.

As of 2025, with the increasing demand for energy and the drive towards "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality", Wuxi has actively ramped up its efforts in photovoltaic power station construction, especially in distributed photovoltaic projects. The city is seeing not only a surge in the quantity of power stations but also advancements in the scale and technology of these projects.

II. Current Status of Photovoltaic Power Station Construction in Wuxi

2.1 Major Projects and Their Scale

• In March 2025, a newly - built 3.3 - megawatt distributed photovoltaic project on the more than 60,000 - square - meter roof of Wuxi Weike Group was on the verge of grid - connection. Once operational, it is expected to generate over 3 million degrees of electricity annually.
• Wuxi Star Island Industrial Park, designated as one of the first batch of national distributed photovoltaic demonstration parks, started constructing photovoltaic power stations in 2013. As of now, the total installed capacity in the park has exceeded 15 megawatts, with an annual power generation of over 18 million degrees, which accounts for 16% of the park's daily electricity load.
• The tenth - phase EPC project of the centralized cluster development of distributed photovoltaics in Wuxi, launched by Jiangsu Comprehensive Energy Service Co., Ltd. Wuxi Branch, plans to use the rooftops and ground areas of 12 companies, covering an area of about 100,400 square meters. The DC - side capacity of this project is 10.87655 MWp, and the AC - side capacity is 10.465 MW.

2.2 Distribution of Photovoltaic Power Stations

Wuxi's distributed photovoltaic power stations are mainly rooftop - based, including those on enterprise and residential rooftops. There are 1,280 enterprise - rooftop photovoltaic users with an installed capacity of 1.216 million kilowatts, and 4,656 residential - rooftop photovoltaic users with an installed capacity of 35,000 kilowatts. The city's overall annual distributed photovoltaic power generation reaches 1.072 billion kilowatt - hours, with a full - consumption rate.

III. Advantages and Challenges of Photovoltaic Power Station Construction in Wuxi

3.1 Advantages

3.1.1 Industrial Foundation

Being a well - known photovoltaic production base, Wuxi has a complete industrial chain in the photovoltaic field, including silicon material production, battery - component manufacturing, and equipment supply. This provides a solid foundation for photovoltaic power station construction, reducing transportation and procurement costs and ensuring the timeliness of project implementation.

3.1.2 Policy Support

The local government has introduced a series of policies to promote photovoltaic power station construction. For example, in Wuxi New Area, photovoltaic projects with a local product utilization rate of over 50% can receive a one - time subsidy of 200,000 yuan per megawatt of installed capacity. Enterprises that provide rooftop resources for distributed photovoltaic power stations can enjoy preferential policies for energy conservation and consumption reduction.

3.1.3 Market Demand

With the development of the economy and the increasing emphasis on environmental protection, the demand for clean energy in Wuxi is growing. Photovoltaic power, as a renewable and clean energy source, has a broad market space. The large - scale adoption of photovoltaic power can also alleviate the pressure on the city's power grid and ensure the stable supply of electricity.

3.2 Challenges

3.2.1 Geographic and Climatic Constraints

Wuxi's sunlight resources belong to the third - class in the country, with relatively ordinary sunlight conditions. The annual photovoltaic power generation hours are around 1100 hours, ranking below the national average. This factor restricts the efficiency of photovoltaic power generation to a certain extent, increasing the cost per unit of power generation.

3.2.2 Grid - connection and Energy Storage Issues

As the scale of photovoltaic power generation expands, problems related to grid - connection and energy storage have emerged. The intermittent and unstable nature of photovoltaic power requires a more flexible and intelligent grid system. Additionally, the lack of large - scale and efficient energy - storage facilities makes it difficult to fully store and utilize the generated electricity, resulting in potential waste.

IV. Technical and Regulatory Requirements for Photovoltaic Power Station Construction in Wuxi

4.1 Technical Requirements

• Photovoltaic power stations need to select appropriate photovoltaic modules according to local sunlight conditions and project requirements. For example, the tenth - phase EPC project of the centralized cluster development of distributed photovoltaics in Wuxi plans to use 605Wp monocrystalline silicon single - sided N - type modules and 580Wp monocrystalline silicon single - sided N - type modules.
• The installation of photovoltaic power stations must meet building structure safety, fire protection, waterproofing, wind - resistance, anti - icing, and lightning - protection requirements. Adequate maintenance space should also be reserved.
• Newly - built distributed photovoltaic power stations must install and commission "observable, measurable, adjustable, and controllable" devices during grid - connection to improve the informatization, digitalization, and intelligence level.

4.2 Regulatory Requirements

4.2.1 Project Classification

Projects are classified according to different usage and construction scenarios. For example, projects using all self - consumption or self - consumption with surplus power fed into the grid should have a development scale not exceeding the total capacity of the user's transformer. Projects in high - speed service areas, schools, and hospitals are managed as general or large - scale industrial and commercial distributed photovoltaic projects.

4.2.2 Project Filing

All distributed photovoltaic power projects in Wuxi are subject to local - area filing management. Natural - person household - use projects can be filed either by the power grid enterprise on behalf of the user or by the user themselves on the Jiangsu Investment Project Online Approval and Supervision Platform. Non - natural - person household - use, general industrial and commercial, and large - scale industrial and commercial projects are filed by the investment entity on the same platform.

4.2.3 Grid - connection Services

The city has established a quarterly release and warning mechanism for the available capacity of the distribution network. Power grid enterprises need to evaluate the bearing capacity of the grid for photovoltaic power access regularly. Project investors should submit grid - connection applications in a timely manner and provide relevant materials, and grid enterprises should issue grid - connection opinions based on the evaluation results.

V. Economic and Environmental Benefits of Photovoltaic Power Station Construction in Wuxi

5.1 Economic Benefits

• For enterprises, building photovoltaic power stations can reduce electricity costs. For example, in Wuxi Star Island Industrial Park, the self - generated photovoltaic power can meet a part of the park's electricity demand, saving a large amount of electricity expenses.
• The development of the photovoltaic power station construction industry has also driven the growth of related industries, such as equipment manufacturing, installation, and maintenance. It has created a large number of jobs, promoting the development of the local economy.
• Photovoltaic power generation projects can also bring additional revenue through green power trading. The government encourages distributed photovoltaic projects to participate in green power trading through aggregators.

5.2 Environmental Benefits

• Wuxi's distributed photovoltaic power generation has significant environmental benefits. The annual power generation of 1.072 billion kilowatt - hours can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 1.0688 million tons, equivalent to the annual emissions of 510,000 fuel - powered vehicles.
• The large - scale construction of photovoltaic power stations helps Wuxi reduce its reliance on traditional fossil energy, improving the energy structure and promoting the city's sustainable development in an ecological and environmental - friendly way.

VI. Future Development Prospects of Photovoltaic Power Station Construction in Wuxi

6.1 Technological Innovation

In the future, Wuxi is expected to see more technological innovations in photovoltaic power station construction. This includes the application of more efficient photovoltaic cells, the development of intelligent energy - storage technologies, and the improvement of grid - connection technologies to enhance the efficiency and stability of power generation.

6.2 Expansion of Scale

With the continuous improvement of policies and the increasing awareness of environmental protection, the scale of photovoltaic power station construction in Wuxi is likely to expand further. More enterprises and residents may participate in the construction of photovoltaic power stations, and large - scale centralized photovoltaic power stations may also be planned and built.

6.3 Integration with Other Energy Sources

Wuxi may promote the integration of photovoltaic power with other energy sources, such as "photovoltaic + energy storage", "photovoltaic + energy storage + charging", and source - grid - load - storage integration. This integrated development mode can improve the overall energy utilization efficiency and provide more stable energy supply.