China Becomes the Global Renewables Leader
Photovoltaic panel in Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (PHOTO: VCG)
Over the last decade, China has become the world's renewables leader. Currently on target to reach a record-breaking 230 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar installations this year, China leads the global renewables market. This is more than double the number of US and Europe installations combined.
While some other markets are moderating renewables targets, China has pushed up its 2025 wind and solar outlook by 43%, or 380 GW, since it first announced its 2060 carbon neutrality target in September 2020.
China has become a leader in grid-connected energy storage, with capacity doubling from 2020 to hit 67 GW in 2023 and an outlook to expand to 300 GW by 2030. The share of coal in power generation has been continuously falling, down 10 percentage points in the last five years to about 55% today. About 80% of the reduction was replaced by renewables and the rest mostly by nuclear power.
The share of coal in power generation has been continuously falling, down 10 percentage points in the last five years to about 55% today. About 80% of the reduction was replaced by renewables and the rest mostly by nuclear power.
How China became the global renewables leader, Wood Mackenzie, 11-20-2023