Felicity Bradstock
Felicity Bradstock is a freelance writer specialising in Energy and Finance. She has a Master’s in International Development from the University of Birmingham, UK.
More Info
Premium Content
By Felicity Bradstock – Jul 19, 2024, 4:00 PM CDT
- China leads the world in renewable energy development, with a project pipeline nearly twice as large as the rest of the world combined.
- China’s aggressive expansion of renewable energy aims to achieve 1,200 GW of installed wind and solar capacity by the end of the year, exceeding government goals.
- China’s early investment in renewable energy, backed by state support and industrial policies, positions it as a global leader in the sector.
China has long dominated the renewable energy space, as the government has been investing in ramping up the country’s green energy capacity for several decades. It is already the biggest solar and wind producer, as well as the biggest lithium miner, in the world, and its expansion plans show no signs of slowing.
A recent report by Global Energy Monitor (GEM) showed that China’s wind and solar power project pipeline is almost twice as big as the rest of the world combined. China currently has 180 GW of solar energy and 159 GW of wind power under construction. This puts it far ahead of any other country, including the U.S., which has 40 GW under construction. The report focused on major projects of 20 MW or higher, not accounting for the vast array of smaller projects under development. Small-scale solar farms contribute around 40 percent of China’s solar power capacity.
China has been ramping up its renewable energy capacity year on year, installing more solar power between 2023 and 2024 than the previous three years combined, and more than the total global capacity installed in 2023. This has put the Asian giant on track to achieve an installed wind and solar capacity of 1,200 GW by the end of the year, putting it six years ahead of the government goal. Despite this huge expansion, analysts suggest that China will need to continue adding more renewable energy capacity to meet its ambitious climate pledges. It will have to add 1,600 GW to 1,800 GW of solar and wind power by 2030 to meet its aim of an energy mix consisting of 25 percent renewable sources. China’s energy demand is continuing to grow rapidly due to the expansion of several industries, and between 2020 and 2023, just 30 percent of the energy consumption growth was met with renewable resources, compared to a target of 50 percent
As energy consumption in China rises rapidly, the government is putting a huge effort into quickly expanding the country’s renewable energy capacity, while also continuing to rely on coal to meet this demand. This means that China continues to emit huge quantities of carbon emissions every year. Nevertheless,