According to a plan issued by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the NEA in 2022, China will build wind and solar power bases with an installed capacity of 455 million kilowatts by 2030. China's southwest can support both hydro and wind power due to its varied landscape, comprising rivers and mountains.
The first wave of "mega wind and solar bases" was announced in 2021 and spanned across 19 provinces. Most of the 97 GW in this first wave began operating in 2023 as scheduled, accounting for a third of China’s newly-operating capacity, pointing to a promising future for the second and third waves.
Most of China's solar power is generated within its western provinces and is transferred to other regions of the country. In 2011, China owned the largest solar power plant in the world at the time, the Huanghe Hydropower Golmud Solar Park, which had a photovoltaic capacity of 200 MW.
As of at least 2024, China has one third of the world's installed solar panel capacity. Most of China's solar power is generated within its western provinces and is transferred to other regions of the country.
China added almost twice as much utility-scale solar and wind power capacity in 2023 than in any other year. By the first quarter of 2024, China’s total utility-scale solar and wind capacity reached 758 GW, though data from China Electricity Council put the total capacity, including distributed solar, at 1,120 GW.
China's wind and solar projects China has commenced construction on several large-scale wind- and solar-powered bases in deserts in recent years. Located mainly in northwest China, they have a combined capacity of nearly 100 million kilowatts for the first phase of projects.
OverviewHistorySolar resourcesSolar photovoltaicsConcentrated solar powerSolar water heatingEffects on the global solar power industryGovernment incentives
China is the largest market in the world for both photovoltaics and solar thermal energy. China''s photovoltaic industry began by making panels for satellites, and transitioned to the manufacture of domestic panels in the late 1990s. After substantial government incentives were introduced in 2011, China''s solar power market grew dramatically: the country became the world''s leading installer of photovoltaics