Wind and solar are expected to account for more than 40 per cent of China’s total installed power generation capacity by the end of the year, after exceeding coal-fired capacity for the first time in the first half, according to the country’s power trade association.
China is expected to add about 300 gigawatts (GW) of solar and wind power capacity to the grid this year, a touch higher than the 293GW a year earlier, the China Electricity Council (CEC) said in a report.
This could boost the cumulative grid-connected wind and solar power generation capacity in China to 1,350GW by the year-end, accounting for more than 40 per cent of the 3,300GW total installed capacity from all energy sources, according to CEC.
The continuing momentum in solar and wind power installation could also drive the overall installed capacity of non-fossil fuel energy sources, which include nuclear and hydropower, to 1,900GW by the end of 2024, or 57.5 per cent of the overall energy mix, versus 53.9 per cent in 2023, the report said.
China, the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter and power consumer, is working towards having 80 per cent of its total energy mix from non-fossil fuel sources by 2060, when it aims to become carbon neutral.
The country had a combined 1,180GW of wind and solar capacity at the end of the first half of the year, accounting for 38.4 per cent of the 3,070GW overall capacity, according to CEC.
Meanwhile, coal-fired capacity fell to 1,170GW, or 38.1 per cent of total power capacity by the end of June.
China, the world’s largest consumer, producer and importer of coal, will see the share of the dirtiest fossil fuel in the energy mix fall below 37 per cent by the year-end, according to CEC.
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President Xi Jinping said in 2021 that the country would “strictly control coal consumption” up to 2025 and “phase down coal consumption” from 2026.
Despite the growth in renewable energy capacity, CEC warned that low utilisation of clean power capacity will remain a major challenge during the rest of this year.
“Some regions will face mounting pressure in absorbing renewable energy and the utilisation rate is expected to drop significantly,” the report noted.
Compared with the rapid growth in renewable energy supply, China’s grid infrastructure still requires further upgrades to improve its flexibility in transmission and storage to cope with intermittent wind and solar power supplies.
The utilisation of solar and wind power capacity in terms of number of hours was less than half of that of coal in the first six months of the year, meaning the actual power generation volume of solar and wind was much lower than coal, according to CEC.
Coal accounted for nearly two-thirds of China’s electricity supply in 2023, it said.
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