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Climate Change: China’s new wind and solar capacity makes up over half the power industry total as nation seeks to cut carbon footprint
- Wind and solar farms accounted for more than half of the new power capacity added in mainland China last year, official figures show
- Generating more low-carbon energy is one of the pillars of Beijing’s strategy to decarbonise its economy
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Wind and solar farms accounted for more than half of the new power capacity that came online in mainland China last year, official figures show.
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It was the fifth consecutive year that the proportion of newly-installed wind and solar capacity came in above 50 per cent, as renewable energy continues to play a key role in helping Beijing achieve its climate goals.
The nation added a record 54.9 gigawatts of solar farms last year, 14 per cent more than in 2020, the National Energy Administration said in a statement on Wednesday.
Wind power capacity growth, however, dropped by a third to 47.6GW last year after a record 71.7GW was installed in 2020, as tariff subsidies for onshore wind farms – the mainstay of the sector – were phased out.
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China installs record number of solar panels on rooftops in race for carbon neutrality
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The combined wind and solar farms installation volume of 102.5GW last year accounted for 58 per cent of the power industry’s total capacity addition, compared to 63 per cent in 2020 and between 51 and 55 per cent from 2017 to 2019.
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The renewable energy industry has kept up strong capacity installation, even as Beijing has ordered the coal power industries to step up production in the past few months to meet energy demand amid temporary shortages and spiralling coal prices.
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