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 can now make more solar power than the rest of the world. Data released by China’s National Agency last week revealed that the country’s solar electric power generation capacity grew by a staggering 55.2 percent in 2023. The numbers highlight over 216 gigawatts (GW) of solar power China built during the year.
Wind and solar now account for 37% of the total power capacity in the country, an 8% increase from 2022, and widely expected to surpass coal capacity, which is 39% of the total right now, in 2024. Cumulative annual utility-scale solar & wind power capacity in China, in gigawatts (GW)
Since the issue of the national feed-in tariff incentive in 2011, China’s solar PV installed capacity increased from 3GW to 300GW by the end of 2021 . It is predicted that under the carbon neutrality target, China's solar power generation will further increase by 16 folds over the next 40 years .
The numbers highlight over 216 gigawatts (GW) of solar power China built during the year. When the Asian superpower set its energy targets in 2020, aiming to achieve peak emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, most dubbed it ambitious.
China aims to see its total installed wind and photovoltaic power capacity surpass 1.2 billion kilowatts by 2030 as it accelerates the shift toward a cleaner energy system. The country will advance its large-scale and high-quality development of wind and solar power generation on all fronts in the 2021-2025 period, according to a government plan.