China stops publishing data showing lower solar energy use

Amid growing scrutiny of excess capacity in its renewable energy grids, China has chosen not to publish data on energy consumption rates by generation source in its latest monthly report.

In a report released on Friday, China’s energy administration only released the average operating hours of all types of power plants from January to May.

In previous publications, statistics were broken down by generation source, including hydro, thermal, nuclear, wind and solar generation.

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The report did not provide a reason for the change, and the China Energy Administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

However, this omission is significant given recent data showing that the use of solar and wind energy is declining, and this trend was expected to continue.

Billions in state subsidies have allowed China’s renewable energy generation to grow at a breakneck pace, but it has also led to an increase in power generation than the national power grids can handle.

As a result, grid managers in the country are curtailing renewable energy production, especially solar. Curtailment occurs when grid managers withhold a certain amount of supply from the grid to maintain balance with demand.

Meanwhile, the U.S. and Europe are investigating China’s solar production, accusing Beijing of flooding the industry with cheap solar panels and cells and distorting the market. Data showing declining use of renewable energy appears to support their accusations.

This is the second time in the last year that China has decided to stop publishing data indicating some challenges in the economy.

China suspended the release of youth unemployment data last August after it hit a record high, before resuming the reports in January using a new methodology that excluded students.

More and more restrictions

Capacity data released in May showed that the use of solar and wind power plants fell between January and April, while the use of hydro and thermal power plants increased. This was the last report to contain detailed statistics.

In the first four months of the year, the average operating time of wind and solar power plants decreased by 77 and 42 hours, to 789 and 373 hours, respectively. The operating hours of hydropower plants increased on average by 48 hours to 783 hours, and of thermal power plants by 23 hours to 1,448 hours, respectively.

Rates of wind and solar power were expected to fall further after the government relaxed rules on renewable energy use in May.

Beijing has raised its renewable energy cut limit from 5% to 10% while accelerating plans to build ultra-high-voltage transmission lines.

According to the International Energy Agency, the previous 5% cap was consistent with rates of 1.5-4% prevailing in most large markets.

This change is expected to enable the construction of more renewable energy sources, but at a lower rate of their utilization.

The average number of hours of use for all power generators surveyed was 1,372 during the first five months of the year, 59 hours less than the same period in 2023, according to energy bureau data released Friday.

• Reuters, with additional editing by Vishakha Saxena

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