Country's green drive hits major milestone

China achieved a major milestone in renewable energy development with installations of wind and solar power generating units surpassing 1.2 billion kilowatts, six years ahead of schedule, said the National Energy Administration on Thursday.

As of end-September, installed capacity of renewable energy power generating units reached 1.73 billion kW, a year-on-year increase of 25 percent, accounting for approximately 54.7 percent of the total installed capacity in China. This includes hydropower installations of 430 million kW, wind power installations of 480 million kW, solar power installations of 770 million kW, and biomass power installations of 46 million kW.

Meanwhile, electricity generated from renewable energy sources has been steadily increasing. In the first three quarters, power generated from renewable energy sources reached 2.51 trillion kilowatt-hours, a 20.9 percent year-on-year increase, representing about 35.5 percent of total electricity. Combined electricity generated from wind and solar power reached 1.349 trillion kWh, a 26.3 percent increase year-on-year, nearly matching the electricity consumption of the tertiary sector (1.3953 trillion kWh) during the same period and surpassing electricity consumption for urban and rural residents (1.1721 trillion kWh).

NEA spokesperson Zhang Xing said, "In the first three quarters, China has continuously enhanced its energy security capabilities, vigorously promoted the green and low-carbon transformation of the energy industry, strengthened the development of new growth drivers through technological innovation, invigorated development through deepening reforms, and made new progress in the establishment of a new type of energy system, providing strong support for high-quality economic development."

The rapid development of renewable energies necessitated growth of energy storage facilities. The NEA said new types of energy storage systems, which exclude pumped storage hydropower as a conventional power storage method, have played a crucial role as "super power banks" for renewable energy, contributing significantly to ensuring power supply during peak hours.

As of end-September, China had 58.52 million kW of operational new types of energy storage facilities, an increase of approximately 86 percent compared with end-2023. In terms of regions, East China has seen rapid growth in new types of energy storage installations, with over 9 million kW added this year. From January to August, the total charge and discharge capacity of new types of energy storage systems in the country reached approximately 26 billion kWh.

Overall, as of end-September, total installed capacity for power generating units in the country reached 3.16 billion kW, a 14.1 percent year-on-year increase. The capacities for coal, oil and gas production have also steadily increased in the first three quarters, with crude oil and natural gas production growing by 2 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively, said the NEA.