According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), as of July 1, 2024, China's small-scale solar power generation capacity has reached 309. 5GW, with residential photovoltaics accounting for 33%. The new policy divides distributed photovoltaic projects into four categories based on the type of investment entity, asset ownership, and installed.
China added almost twice as much utility-scale solar and wind power capacity in 2023 than in any other year. By the first quarter of 2024, China's total utility-scale solar and wind capacity reached 758 GW, though data from China Electricity Council put the total capacity, including distributed solar, at 1,120 GW.
Wind and solar now account for 37% of the total power capacity in the country, an 8% increase from 2022, and widely expected to surpass coal capacity, which is 39% of the total right now, in 2024. Cumulative annual utility-scale solar & wind power capacity in China, in gigawatts (GW)
Does China need more solar power to reach its climate target?
So there is a lot of uncertainty in the Chinese solar industry, but there are also irrefutable facts: China needs to continue to expand domestic solar capacity to reach its climate target. Similarly, global demand for PV products will not cease.
What percentage of China's power comes from wind and solar?
Ember data shows the share of wind and solar in China's power output to be 20.3% during the first half of 2024, much higher than the NBS figure of 15%. NBS places the share of fossil fuels in the country's power generation at 67.8%, compared with Ember's estimate of 62.3% based on NEA data.
Does China have a solar industry?
And despite all the turmoil, the Chinese solar industry has the manufacturing capacity to meet the demand. Discover all statistics and data on Solar energy in China now on statista.com!
Why are China's renewable capacity additions so different?
The discrepancy is mainly due to growth in additions of distributed solar over the last three years in China, with smaller installations growing at nearly twice the rate of large utility-scale solar farms - the main driver of renewable capacity additions in China in the previous decade.