China solar exports hit 58 GW in first three quarters of 2019, foreign earnings for firms set to rise 25%

China’s solar module exports rose to the equivalent of 58 gigawatts of capacity in the first three quarters of the year, compared to 41.6 GW for all of 2018, as a slowdown at home pushed panel sales overseas, an industry association said.

Wang Bohua, vice-chairman of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, also told a conference on Thursday that the value of the country’s solar component exports hit $17.74 billion over the first three quarters of 2019 and could exceed $20 billion for the whole year, an increase of 25% over 2018.