The national push for clean energy is moving forward

By the end of August, China’s renewable energy generation capacity had increased to 1.27 billion kilowatts, accounting for 40.7 percent of the country’s total power generation capacity, amid the country’s increasing efforts to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and transition to a greener economy low-carbon, said the China Electricity Board.

The development of renewable energy – such as wind, solar and biomass – has resulted in a significant increase in generating capacity using non-fossil fuels, Yang Kun, executive vice chairman of the council, said at the 2024 New Energy System Development Forum (Chongli) on Thursday.

China’s drive to build a new power system has supported the rapid development of renewable energy. Yang said that since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), China’s non-fossil fuel generation capacity has increased by 78.5%.

Council data showed that in August alone, non-fossil energy accounted for 40 percent of the country’s total electricity consumption, an increase of 53.4 billion kilowatt hours year-on-year, covering two-thirds of the monthly increase in energy demand.

Green electricity refers to energy produced from renewable sources such as wind, solar energy, biomass, hydropower and geothermal energy. Sectors such as energy, steel and digital services have led the consumption of green electricity in recent years as companies increasingly adopt low-carbon production methods to support China’s energy transition and carbon emissions targets, the council said.

Zhu Yicong, vice president of renewable energy and energy research at global consulting company Rystad Energy, said that the number of renewable energy installations has increased since last year and the momentum is not slowing down.

“In June this year, we observed that the combined capacity of wind and solar power plants exceeded that of coal plants, marking an important milestone in the energy transformation of China’s power sector,” Zhu said.

“This rapid development also creates challenges as some areas experience increasing congestion rates, network congestion issues, as well as shortages of land resources for utility-scale projects. Efforts are underway to address these challenges, including promoting the development of energy storage, improving the system capability network, encouraging integrated development of energy sources and formulating locally tailored development strategies for different areas.”

“With strong and sustained political support, a mature domestic supply chain and reliable grid systems, we expect China’s renewable energy capacity to continue to grow so dynamically,” Zhu added.

The emphasis on green energy has also spurred the development of China’s green energy market. From January to August, green electricity transactions rose to 177.5 billion kWh, up 223 percent year-on-year, reflecting growing demand for renewable energy from sectors including power, steel and internet services, the council said .