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China Wind, Solar Capacity Set to Outstrip Coal For First Time

But it’s also forecast that actual power generation will still be dominated by coal, which provided nearly 60% of electricity consumed last year


China power lines
Power lines and wind turbines are seen at a wind and solar energy storage and transmission station of China's State Grid in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province (Reuters file photo).

 

China’s installed wind and solar capacity will overtake coal for the first time this year, though fossil fuels will continue dominate power generation.

The China Electricity Council (CEC) in a yearly report said grid-connected wind and solar would make up around 40% of installed power generation capacity by the end of 2024, compared with coal’s expected 37%.

By comparison, wind and solar together were around 36% of capacity at the end of 2023, and coal was just under 40%.

China will have built around 1,300 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar capacity by the end of 2024, the CEC expects, meaning it will have already exceeded its official target of 1,200 GW by 2030.

The CEC also said that generating capacity from all non-fossil fuel sources, including nuclear and hydro, made up more than half of the total for the first time in 2023.

 

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However, it did not give a forecasted breakdown for actual power generation, which is still dominated by coal that provided nearly 60% of electricity consumed last year.

The CEC sees electricity consumption growing by 6% this year, down just slightly from 2023’s 6.7% growth rate, when demand was recovering from a low base following the pandemic.

It said power supply could be tight during the peak demand for heating in winter and cooling in summer, recommending improved measures to curb consumption, such as time-of-use pricing.

The CEC urged the government to develop a capacity payment system to incentivise battery storage and other new energy storage technologies as soon as possible to help incorporate renewable energy into the grid. It also suggested speeding up the construction of pumped hydro storage.

 

  • Reuters with additional editing by Sean O’Meara

 

Read more:

China Seen Installing 230 GW of Solar & Wind Power in 2023 – PV

China Solar Panel Costs Plunge in 2023, 60% Cheaper Than US

EU May Also Probe China Subsidies for Wind Turbines – FT

China to ‘Dominate’ Global Solar Supply Chain For Next Decade

 

 

Sean O'Meara

Sean O'Meara is an Editor at Asia Financial. He has been a newspaper man for more than 30 years, working at local, regional and national titles in the UK as a writer, sub-editor, page designer and print editor. A football, cricket and rugby fan, he has a particular interest in sports finance.