In the following interview on the podcast “Inside Renewable Energy,” Louis Schwartz, the president of China Strategies LLC, explains that the horde of Chinese solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturers who IPO’d in recent years are having to sharply cut back their expansion plans due to the credit crisis. Although China itself is somewhat sheltered from the financial and economic turmoil, the sector exports nearly all of its output — so is seeing a drop in demand, as financing to drive renewable energy projects overseas has dried up. What’s more, the chill effect on investor sentiment in the equities markets means these solar PV companies will also have to shelve their plans to tap equity markets to scale up their manufacturing capacity.

By contrast, he says, Chinese wind-turbine manufacturers are mainly sustained by domestic and state-supported projects, so are feeling less pain.

Photo courtesy of alibaba.com.