From 2007 to 2025, SNEC has been held for 18 sessions. After 18 years, the number of exhibitors has increased by more than ten times, and the exhibition hall area and the number of participants have expanded nearly 20 times.

All along the way, the photovoltaic industry has braved wind and rain, working together to contribute to the vision of green energy. However, in the context of the long-term spread of competition within the industry, the hot topics of this exhibition are more focused on aspects such as the industry ecosystem and capacity clearance.

At the opening ceremony of the 18th (2025) International Solar Photovoltaic, Smart Energy & Energy Storage and Battery Technology and Equipment (Shanghai) Conference SNEC PV&ES, industry leaders such as Zhu Gongshan, Chairman of GCL Group, Gao Jifan, Chairman of Trina Solar, and Li Junfeng, Executive Director of the China Energy Research Society, along with experts from all sides, made sharp comments on the industry situation. And suggestions were given on dealing with problems such as internal competition and overcapacity.

Zhu Gongshan, the chairperson of the Global Green Energy Council, the chairperson of the Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association, the co-chairperson of the SNEC Photovoltaic Storage and Hydrogen Industry Alliance, the executive chairperson of the SNEC PV+ International Photovoltaic Conference, and the chairman of GCL Group, said that in the past year, the photovoltaic industry has been systematically reshaped amid intense pain. “Major changes” and “major reshuffling” coexist, and elimination and rebirth go hand in hand. Deep differentiation and dynamic integration are taking place simultaneously.

Against this backdrop, it is necessary to clearly recognize that the series of major changes taking place in the photovoltaic industry are essentially the result of the resonance of three variables: technology, market and policy: technological iteration accelerates the elimination of backward production capacity, market mechanisms reconstruct the revenue model, cross-border integration expands the value boundary, and promotes the transformation of photovoltaic from a “participant in the energy revolution” to a “zero-carbon system architect”. Rather than expecting a cyclical recovery of the photovoltaic industry, it is better to confront the disruptive restructuring of the industry head-on.

Zhu Gongshan emphasized: “After experiencing the industry pain brought about by overcapacity in all links, practitioners should reflect deeply and compile a ‘Reflection Record on the Intra-industry Competition in the photovoltaic sector’ – the photovoltaic industry is not a battlefield of zero-sum games, but a life community of shared destiny.” There is no way out for short-term profit-seeking and piling up production capacity. The cost reduction of photovoltaic products has its physical and technical limits. Extreme cost reduction and extreme competition at the expense of reasonable profits are no different from drinking poison to quench thirst.

Regarding how to restructure the industry ecosystem, he issued three proposals. The first is to promote the clean-up through the joint efforts of the government and enterprises. The photovoltaic production capacity indicators should be uniformly incorporated into the national planning framework. Except for disruptive new technologies, new production capacity should be strictly controlled to avoid unreasonable local protection behaviors. The second is green grading and value determination. Introduce photovoltaic green value classification systems such as “dark green” and “light green”, and incorporate the full-cycle carbon value into the preconditions for the grid connection of photovoltaic power generation. Third, a new situation of compound symbiosis is opened up, breaking down barriers for cross-border applications of photovoltaic. Change the value distortion situation where the manufacturing attribute of photovoltaic power is greater than its technical attribute.

Gao Jifan, honorary chairman of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association and chairman and CEO of Trina Solar, pointed out that the photovoltaic industry is confronted with three major challenges: the continuous intensification of trade challenges, the severe phenomenon of internal competition and spillover, and the increasingly prominent imbalance between supply and demand. To break through the internal competition and weather the cycle, it is necessary to implement measures from three key aspects: industry consolidation, strict control of production capacity, and strengthening of intellectual property protection.

He believes that the photovoltaic industry will shift from the previous era where manufacturing reigned supreme to one where solutions reign supreme. The shift from price competition to value creation is to build a new green energy system centered on scenarios, which has huge potential.

Shi Yonghong, the president of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, believes that the current situation of the photovoltaic industry can be summed up in four words: “internal troubles and external troubles”, and the internal troubles outweigh the external troubles. Every enterprise is going through this difficult process, but the industry has not reached a low point because not many enterprises have significantly reduced production, and no enterprise has survived as a result.

Shi Yonghong said, “From an industry perspective, photovoltaic enterprises should be self-disciplined and reduce production capacity at present.” But from the perspective of development, enterprises do not want to reduce production capacity. So external forces are needed to control production capacity.

Domestically, the state needs to take action to control. Abroad, the export volume can also be controlled. First, calculate the demand in foreign markets and the corresponding export volume to prevent the phenomenon of enterprises competing for foreign markets by reducing prices. This way, it not only meets the market demand, but also gives our photovoltaic enterprises a say in terms of price and enables them to make appropriate profits.

Regarding the tense situation both inside and outside the industry, Li Junfeng, a standing director of the China Energy Research Society, frankly admitted that it is not due to market reasons. The reason why the current photovoltaic industry is trapped in the predicament of losses throughout the entire industrial chain is the extreme mismatch between output and capacity. Moreover, the industry is constantly increasing production and hopes that the state can provide a broader market and that foreign trade can open up a broader market.

We might need to take a serious look at the current situation. We need to control our output and our pace. All photovoltaic enterprises should provide reasonable nurturing and adopt reasonable business methods to jointly protect this industry.

Dai Qinghua, director of Sany Group and chairman of Sany Silicon Energy, said that for the photovoltaic industry to achieve a price increase, it cannot do without the priority of leading enterprises. Only a business style that places the interests of the industry before those of individual enterprises is possible to achieve this.

Regarding the next step of the industry’s development, Liu Yong, the chairman and president of Daodao New Energy, believes that the global leading advanced industry has fallen into a dismal situation, and the root cause lies in the price distortion caused by the imbalance between supply and demand. However, this irrational phenomenon will not last long. Enterprises will eventually return to rationality, and industries will also return to the fundamental logic of business. Looking back on the industry’s history, technological innovation has always been the key to breaking through.

To break through the last mile of photovoltaic electricity price application and enable end users to truly enjoy the value brought by green electricity, the development of our industry will reach another peak.

Liu Yafang, an adjunct professor at Zhejiang University and the former deputy director of the Energy Conservation and Technology Equipment Department of the National Energy Administration, believes that although the photovoltaic industry is currently in a very difficult stage, it is merely a matter of the method of growth. With the integrated development of photovoltaic and energy storage, the photovoltaic industry is also expected to enter a stage of healthy and sustainable development in the future.

You Min, executive vice president and secretary-general of the China Electricity Development Promotion Association, pointed out that with digital transformation, future shared development will play a very important supporting role in building a new pattern of high-quality development. Under the major reshuffle of the industry, regardless of the size of the enterprise, it is necessary to take shared development as the core and proactively embrace market competition and intelligent upgrading.