(Yicai Global) Feb. 17 -- China's photovoltaic sector’s production, excluding solar inverters, jumped 95 percent to more than CNY1.4 trillion (USD200 billion) last year from the year before amid strong demand at home and overseas for solar power, Shanghai Securities News reported.

Export of PV products soared 80 percent to USD51.3 billion, the report said, citing Wang Bohua, honorary chairman of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, who spoke at an industry forum in Beijing yesterday.

Solar product exports exceeded USD50 billion for the first time last year, comprising USD42.4 billion of panels, USD5.1 billion of silicon wafers, and USD3.8 billion of batteries, he noted. About 46 percent of the products went to Europe, marking a 115 percent increase.

Among the main PV products, China's polysilicon production climbed 63 percent to 827,000 tons last year, Wang added. Cell production jumped 61 percent to 318 gigawatts, while panel and wafer production rose 59 percent and 58 percent to 288.7 GW and 357 GW, respectively, Wang said.

Demand for silicon products has surged because of the fast growth in solar power installations. China's PV power stations raised their output capacity by 87.41 GW to 392.61 GW last year, according to data the National Energy Administration released earlier this week.

Global new PV installations could reach between 280 GW and 330 GW this year, with 95 GW to 120 GW in China, Wang predicted.

Editor: Martin Kadiev