BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s non-fossil fuel energy sources now exceed 50% of its total installed electricity generation capacity, state media outlet Xinhua said on Monday, citing an official at state planner the National Reform and Development Commission.
Non-fossil fuel power sources, such as wind and solar power, account for 50.9% of the country’s total installed capacity, marking the early completion of a government target proposed in 2021, under which renewable capacity was planned to exceed fossil fuel capacity by 2025.
By the end of 2022, China’s installed power generation capacity was 2,564.05 GW, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
China has devoted significant resources to the construction of renewable energy capacity in recent years, building large wind, solar and hydro plants in the west of the country as it seeks to meet a target of peak carbon emissions before 2030.
However, inconsistent utilisation of the resources means that China’s energy consumption mix remains weighted toward fossil fuels, principally coal.
Coal accounted for 56.2% of total energy consumption last year, versus 25.9% from renewables which includes nuclear energy, the NBS data showed.
(Reporting by Andrew Hayley; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
