China is on track to almost double its wind and solar capacity by 2025 and blow past the country’s clean power target five years early, according to Global Energy Monitor.
The country has announced or begun construction on enough projects for total wind and solar capacity to likely reach 1,371 gigawatts by 2025, the climate research firm said in a new report. That would vastly outstrip a goal set by President Xi Jinping in late 2020 of having 1,200 gigawatts of panels and turbines by 2030.
Read More: China Could Hit 2030 Renewable Target by 2025 on Local Ambitions
China has installed record amounts of solar each of the past two years and is turbo-charging its efforts in 2023 as an easing of supply chain bottlenecks drives down the price of panels. Still, the country is mining record amounts of coal and building a new fleet of generators powered by the fossil fuel — and striking new long-term deals to buy natural gas — in order to avoid shortages that have plagued its electricity system in recent years.
“China is making strides, but with coal still holding sway as the dominant power source, the country needs bolder advancements in energy storage and green technologies for a secure energy future,” said Martin Weil, a GEM researcher.
Clean power installations in 2023 could hit 154 gigawatts of solar, 55.7 gigawatts of onshore wind power and 8.3 gigawatts of offshore wind, according to BloombergNEF forecasts.
That’s in line with an assessment published Wednesday by the China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute, an advisory body with close links to the National Energy Administration, which predicts solar installations of about 100 gigawatts and 60 gigawatts of wind for this year.
China already installed 61.2 gigawatts of solar power between January and May, according to the NEA, outpacing a previous assessment from the China Photovoltaic Industry Association. Wind installations are also rebounding after pandemic-related delays, while fierce domestic competition among manufacturers is keeping costs in check.
The Week’s Diary
Thursday, June 29
- Summer coal fair in Shandong, day 2
- World Economic Forum’s Tianjin summit, day 3
- Offshore wind summit in Tangshan, day 3
Friday, June 30
- China’s official PMIs for June, 09:30
- China weekly iron ore port stockpiles
- Shanghai exchange weekly commodities inventory, ~15:30
On the Wire
Chinese lawmakers are mulling a wide-ranging food security law to fend off risks as the nation’s food supplies increasingly come under threat from trade tensions to climate shocks and disease outbreaks.
China stepped in to support the yuan for a third time this week. The currency has come under increasing pressure amid mounting evidence that the nation’s economic recovery will be slower than anticipated and any stimulus modest.
China Southern Power Grid Co. plans to add 15 billion yuan ($2 billion) to its annual investment budget for 2023 to expand its transmission networks in support of renewables growth and energy security goals, the Guangzhou Daily reported.
(Updates to add details from fifth paragraph)