Charts of the Day: China’s World-Beating Solar, Wind Power Construction

China is significantly outpacing the rest of the world in constructing wind and solar power capacity. Currently, China is building 339 gigawatts (GW) of major solar and wind farms, which almost accounts for two-thirds of the global total of 525 GW. This data was revealed by a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization, Global Energy Monitor (GEM) [para. 1][para. 2].

The expansion of solar installations in China has been remarkably rapid. Data from GEM highlights that the solar capacity currently being constructed in China exceeds the United States by over six times and Spain by over 23 times, which ranks second and third, respectively. In terms of wind power, China's capacity under construction surpasses the U.S.'s by more than 13 times and the U.K.'s by over 20 times [para. 3].

According to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) forecast from June, China is expected to achieve its 2030 wind and solar capacity goal six years in advance, likely hitting the target this year or next month. The GEM analysis focused on "utility-scale" projects, which are defined as solar farms with a minimum capacity of 20 megawatts (MW) and wind farms with at least 10 MW. However, this metric underestimates China's total renewable energy capacity since it doesn't account for the country's growing distributed solar installations like rooftop solar panels. These smaller projects have been booming since 2021 and now comprise 41% of China's total solar power capacity [para. 4][para. 5][para. 6][para. 7].

China's rapid success in renewable energy is partly due to its government's effectiveness in achieving its targets. Yu Aiqun, a research analyst with GEM, noted that once China formulated its renewable energy strategy, the entire governmental system quickly mobilized to implement it. For example, China planned, built, and operationalized nearly all its first group of mega wind and solar projects, with a total capacity of 97 GW across 19 provinces, within just two years. This capacity is more than twice the combined wind and solar capacity currently under construction in all European countries [para. 8].

Another factor driving China's renewable energy growth is the crowded wind and solar manufacturing sectors, which have prompted rapid expansion. Some companies have even set up their solar panel assembly lines directly on the sites of solar farms [para. 9].

However, China faces challenges in integrating this rapid expansion into its power grid. An issue called "curtailment" — where the generated wind and solar power doesn't meet the planned amount due to insufficient grid demand at that time — has been increasing, particularly in northern and northwestern China. This indicates that China's power grid is struggling to accommodate the surge in renewable energy. The bottleneck is largely due to the slow construction and insufficient planning of long-distance, ultra-high-voltage power transmission lines needed to transport renewable electricity from generation sites to demand centers [para. 10][para. 11][para. 12].

Despite these challenges, China is making strides in reducing its reliance on coal. According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), coal power's share in China’s total electricity mix dropped to a record low of 53% in May due to increased output from clean energy sources, including solar, wind, hydro, and nuclear power. However, even with its leadership in renewable energy, China needs to further accelerate the growth of solar and wind capacity to meet its climate commitments. China aims to increase the share of non-fossil fuels in its energy mix to "around 25%" by 2030, up from 17.9% in 2023 [para. 15][para. 16][para. 17].