Report: Pace of installation on solar, wind sectors may help China hit target early

China may beat its 2030 target for solar and wind energy development five years ahead of schedule, a report from an independent nonprofit organization in the United States has found, as China celebrates its National Low-Carbon Day on Wednesday.

Prospective solar and wind energy projects that have been announced or are in the preconstruction and construction phases in China totaled approximately 379 gigawatts and 371 GW, respectively, said the report published by Global Energy Monitor late last month.

If these prospective facilities — nearly all of which are included in the 2021-25 five-year plans of different regions — are built and commissioned, China is expected to roughly double its current installed operating capacities for solar and wind energy, it said, adding that this will help the country realize its 2030 target for the two types of renewable energy by 2025.

In December 2020, while addressing the Climate Ambition Summit, President Xi Jinping announced that China will strive to boost its installed capacity of wind and solar power to more than 1,200 GW by 2030.

"As we closely monitor the implementation of prospective projects, this detailed information becomes indispensable in navigating the country's energy landscape," Dorothy Mei, project manager at Global Energy Monitor, was quoted as saying in a media release from the organization.

However, Martin Weil, a researcher with the organization, said China still needs to make more efforts to promote its energy transition.

"China is making strides, but with coal still holding sway as the dominant power source, the country needs to bolster advancements in energy storage and green technologies for a secure energy future," he said.

The country has seen a slew of renewable energy projects go into operation in the past few days as electricity consumption peaks amid scorching heat waves.

In the Bohai Sea, for instance, offshore wind power facilities with a combined installed capacity of 500,000 kilowatts were put into operation over 10 days ago. To date, these facilities have generated roughly 200 million kilowatt-hours of electricity.

In desert areas in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Mulei Kazak autonomous county in the region, and Delingha city in Qinghai province, solar and wind energy generation facilities with a total installed capacity of nearly 3.1 million kilowatts are up and running.

Altogether, they are expected to produce 7.5 billion kilowatt-hours of green electricity annually, according to local authorities.

Last year, the proportion of coal in the country's energy consumption mix stood at 56.2 percent. With green power development gaining speed, renewable energy has vastly dominated new electricity projects.

"The installed capacity for renewable energy across the country grew by 47.4 million kilowatts in the first quarter this year, increasing by 86.5 percent year-on-year and representing 80.3 percent of the total new installed capacity," Wang Dapeng, deputy head of new energy and renewable energy department at the National Energy Administration, said at a news conference in late April.