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Between 2008 and 2013, China's fledgling solar-electric panel industry dropped world prices by 80 percent, a stunning achievement in a fiercely competitive high-tech market. China had leapfrogged from nursing a tiny, rural-oriented solar program in the 1990s to become the globe's leader in what may soon be the world's largest renewable energy source.
[...] China's new dominance of nearly all aspects of solar use and manufacturing—markets that are predicted to expand by 13 percent a year, according to the report—came through a "unique, complex and interdependent set of circumstances" that is not likely to be repeated.
[...] According to some veterans in the U.S. solar industry, China bought solar companies and invited others to move to China, where they found cheap, skilled labor. Instead of paying taxes, they received tax credits.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-china-is-dominating-the-solar-industry/
Wikipedia has more stats/charts
(Score: 2) by donkeyhotay on Monday February 06 2017, @10:03PM
They dominate for the same reason that they dominate so many other markets: the Chinese government doesn't give a shit about their people, or anyone else for that matter. Pollution is rampant in China and they have plenty of slave labor, or near-slave labor, to exploit.
Far too many people think slavery, worker exploitation, and pollution are just fine, so long as it's going on somewhere else. That so many of these people are neo-liberals who supposedly care about the environment and workers' welfare is baffling.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 06 2017, @11:43PM
You've got your labels all mixed up which just shows your biased thinking. Sure some liberals have an "ignorance is bliss" kind of attitude, decrying slave labor then standing in line for hours for the newest iClone. However, neo-liberals are like neo-conservatives. They are no longer liberal or progressive in any way, and are actually characterized as more conservative than the Republican party of a few decades ago! Any concern for the environment is like Republican concerns for American Jobs: fake.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 06 2017, @11:44PM
They dominate for the same reason that they dominate so many other markets: the Chinese government doesn't give a shit about their people, or anyone else for that matter. Pollution is rampant in China and they have plenty of slave labor, or near-slave labor, to exploit.
Er no. China's government made a deal with the population - as long as the standard of living was increasing, the population wouldn't rock the boat.
Nowadays that era is coming to an end. Growth in China has dramatically slowed. So the people aren't so willing to give the government a pass anymore. The result is a lot of work, much of it bullshit just for appearances sake, some of it serious, to fix environmental problems. Solar is one of the areas where they are doing real work. Its not anywhere near enough on its own to fix their pollution problems. But it is seriously motivated by the government's recognition that it can't just keep treating people like shit. At least not if wants to maintain peace and order.