By the end of 2021, the grid-connected wind and PV power installed capacity reached 328 GW and 306 GW respectively. The annual cumulative power generation of wind and PV power reached 978.5 billion kWh, up 35% year-on-year, accounting for 11.7% of the total power generation, an increase of 2.2 percentage point over the previous year (Fig. 1). 3.
In a baseline scenario, the capacity of individual PV and wind power plants is limited to 10 GW without electricity transmission and energy storage, whereas the growth rate of PV and wind power is constant during 2021–2060 without considering the dynamics of learning.
During the 12th Five Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China (12th Five-Year Plan) period, the combined annual power generation of wind and photovoltaic (PV) power in China accounted for less than 4%, annual growth of about 0.6% (Fig. 1). Fig. 1.
Driven by a combination of limited capacity to integrate variable solar power into the local power systems of the western region and air pollution control policies that increasingly constrain coal use in eastern China, there has been an evident west-to-east shift of solar PV development in China.
Globally, almost 60% of utility-scale solar PV and wind deployment in the next two years will be developed under policies with administratively set remuneration policies such as fixed tariffs, premiums, and utility-owned projects.
The decline in costs for solar power and storage systems offers opportunity for solar-plus-storage systems to serve as a cost-competitive source for the future energy system in China. The transportation, building, and industry sectors account, respectively, for 15.3, 18.3, and 66.3% of final energy consumption in China (5).