China’s installed wind energy and solar capacity up in January-July

China saw a steady increase in newly installed clean energy capacity in the first seven months of 2023.

The new installed capacity of solar power expanded 42.9 percent year-on-year to 490 million kilowatts, while that of wind power stood at about 390 million kilowatts, representing an annual increase of 14.3 percent. percent, data from the National Energy Administration (NEA) showed.

The country’s installed power generation capacity totaled about 2.74 billion kilowatts, rising 11.5 percent on-year, the NEA said.

China has improved its investment in renewable energy over the years as part of its pursuit of green development.

In the first seven months, total investment by China’s major power companies in solar power soared 108.7 percent on-year to 161.2 billion yuan (22.39 billion U.S. dollars), the data showed.
This aerial photo taken on June 28, 2023 shows 16-megawatt wind turbines installed at the Fujian Offshore Wind Farm operated by China Three Gorges Corporation off the coast of southeast China’s Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)

China’s power generation climbed 3.6 percent year on year in July, with the pace of increase widening by 0.8 percentage points compared with that in June, official data showed.

In July, the country’s daily average power generation reached 27.3 billion kilowatt-hours, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

A breakdown of the data showed growth in the output of thermal power, nuclear power, wind power, and solar power, up 7.2 percent, 2.9 percent, 25 percent, and 6.4 percent year on year, respectively, during the period, the NBS data showed.

However, the country’s hydropower output fell 17.5 percent from a year earlier, narrowing by 16.4 percentage points from that in June.

In the first seven months, China’s power output expanded 3.8 percent year on year to 5.01 trillion kilowatt-hours, according to the NBS.