China leads with twice the world’s wind and solar power capacity

The amount of wind and solar power under construction in China is nearly double that of the rest of the world combined, a report says.

Research published Thursday by Global Energy Monitor (GEM), an NGO, revealed that China has 180 gigawatts (GW) of utility-scale solar under construction and 15GW of wind. That brings the total wind and solar under construction to 339GW, far ahead of the 40GW under construction in the U.S.

The researchers only looked at solar farms with a capacity of 20MW or more, which feed directly into the grid. This means that the total volume of solar power in China could be much higher, as small-scale solar farms account for about 40% of China’s solar capacity.

The results underscore China’s leading position in global renewable energy production at a time when the U.S. is increasingly concerned about Chinese overcapacity and dumping, especially in the solar industry.

Nearly two-thirds of global wind and solar projects under construction are in China

Solar and wind power projects under construction, gigawatts

China has seen a boom in renewable energy in recent years, fueled by strong government support. Xi Jinping, China’s president, has emphasized the need for “quality new productive forces,” a slogan that indicates a desire to shift the Chinese economy toward technology and innovation. Xi said “quality new productive forces” include strengthening green manufacturing.

Between March 2023 and March 2024, China installed more solar power than in the previous three years combined, and more than the rest of the world combined for 2023, GEM analysts found. China is on track to reach 1,200GW of installed wind and solar power capacity by the end of 2024, six years ahead of the government’s target.

“The uninterrupted wave of construction ensures that China will continue to lead in wind and solar power installation for the foreseeable future, far ahead of the rest of the world,” the report said.

However, analysts warned that more renewable capacity will still be needed if China is to meet its goal of reducing the economy’s carbon intensity by 18%, which is a key factor in reducing emissions. Carbon intensity refers to how many grams of CO2 are released to produce one kilowatt-hour of electricity.

One-third of China’s planned solar and wind projects are under construction

Solar and wind power projects by status and planned capacity, gigawatts

Previous analysis suggests that China will need to install between 1,600 GW and 1,800 GW of wind and solar power by 2030 to meet its target of producing 25% of all energy from non-fossil sources. Between 2020 and 2023, only 30% of the growth in energy consumption was met by renewable sources, compared to the target of 50%.

“It’s obviously important for China to keep adding more renewable energy to meet its targets,” said Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. “But it’s not as simple as just keeping building and it will be solved… [porque] there is no sign that the country is trying to move away from coal consumption.”

Previous analysis by GEM and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, a think tank, found that approvals for new coal power plants increased fourfold in 2022-2023, compared with the previous five-year period of 2016-2020, despite a pledge in 2021 to “strictly control” new coal power. Growth in total coal consumption increased from an average of 0.5% per year to 3.8% per year between the two periods.

Geopolitical tensions, such as the war in Ukraine, which has focused many countries’ attention on energy supplies, and major power outages in parts of China in recent years, have heightened Chinese authorities’ concerns about energy security.

China’s power grid remains dependent on coal, which authorities see as necessary to mitigate the intermittency of renewable energy. Officials often view the coal industry as a surefire way to boost local GDP numbers, even though clean energy sectors are now the biggest driver of China’s economic growth, accounting for 40% of GDP growth in 2023.

Analysts say better storage and grid flexibility are needed to efficiently use the growing volume of clean energy generated by China’s wind and solar farms. The Chinese government is aware of this challenge, naming lithium-ion batteries as one of the “new three” technologies important for creating high-quality growth, along with electric vehicles and solar panels. Last year, $11 billion was invested in grid-connected batteries, a 364% increase in 2022.

The GEM report also highlighted China’s leadership in the actual construction of planned renewable energy infrastructure. The 339 GW of wind and solar power that has reached the construction stage represents one-third of the proposed projects, far exceeding the global construction rate of 7%.

“China’s renewable energy pipeline is twice as large as the rest of the world,” Li said. “But the question we should increasingly ask ourselves is: Why is the rest of the world so slow?”

With information from The Guardian