China continues to lead the world in renewable energy resources. As per the latest reports, China’s renewable energy capacity has surpassed thermal power for the first time.
This means more than half of the country’s installed power generation capacity comes from renewable sources, as per the official data.
According to the National Energy Administration, the installed power generation capacity of renewable energy, which includes wind power, solar power, hydropower and biomass energy, totaled 1.45 billion kilowatts so far this year.
The country’s total power generation capacity reached around 2.9 billion kilowatts, up 12.9 percent from a year earlier. Furthermore, the country’s photovoltaic modules, wind turbines, and other key components accounted for 70% of the global market share in 2022.
As per the administration, amid the country’s efforts to accelerate the development of wind power and solar power, the combined power generation capacity of the two sources has topped one billion kilowatts, maintaining a major share in the country’s newly installed power generation capacity.
Renewable energy contributes about one-third of the country’s total power consumption, with 15 % share from the wind power and solar power, of the total power use.
It may be noted that the accelerated development of China’s renewable industry aligns with its ambitious climate goals. In 2022, China’s renewable energy generation resulted in a reduction of 2.26 billion tonnes of domestic carbon dioxide emissions. Moreover, its exports of wind power and photovoltaic products helped other countries reduce emissions by approximately 573 million tonnes. Together, this amounts to about 41% of the global total of carbon emissions reduction due to renewable energy.
