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 generating capacity from all non-fossil fuel sources – including nuclear and hydro – made up more than half of total for the first time in 2023.
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 power consumption growing 6% this year, down from 2023’s 6.7% growth rate.
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
