China is on track to over-perform on its renewable energy capacity targets ahead of 2030. The country will double its utility-scale solar and wind power capacity between now and the end of the decade.
According to a report published by Global Energy Monitor, the country is on track to “shatter the central government’s ambitious 2030 target of 1.2TW”. The report predicts that China’s wind and solar capacity will reach 1.2TW in 2025, five years ahead of time.
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By GlobalDataAs of the first quarter of 2023, 228GW of large utility-scale solar is operating in the country. This represents “approximately 75% of the combined large utility-scale solar capacity of the entire Asian region and 52% of the global large utility-scale solar capacity”, the report states.
Under-construction solar farms could add a further 379GW in prospective capacity, which represents triple the capacity of the US and nearly double that of Europe.
Additionally, the country’s offshore and onshore wind capacity has now exceeded 310GW, roughly equalling the combined wind capacity of the other top seven countries globally.
“This new data provides unrivalled granularity about China’s jaw-dropping surge in solar and wind capacity,” said Dorothy Mei, a project manager at Global Energy Monitor. “As we closely monitor the implementation of prospective projects, this detailed information becomes indispensable in navigating the country’s energy landscape.”
While the surge in renewable capacity is promising for China’s energy mix, the country still maintains a strong relationship with coal. According to an additional report from Global Energy Monitor published in April, China’s planned coal capacity increase of 126GW far offset coal reductions from the rest of the world combined. More than half of all newly commissioned coal capacity increases coming from plants in China.
The report results are in line with results published by the Chinese Government last month. The government introduced policy to boost solar expansion last year. Installations have been concentrated in the country’s north and north-west provinces including Shanxi, Xinjiang and Hebei.
