CHINA’S installed wind and solar capacity is expected to overtake coal for the first time this year, according to industry forecasts.

The China Electricity Council (CEC), an industry association, forecast in a yearly report on Tuesday (Jan 30) that grid-connected wind and solar would make up around 40 per cent of installed power generation capacity by the end of 2024, compared with coal’s expected 37 per cent.

By comparison, wind and solar together were around 36 per cent of capacity at the end of 2023, and coal was just under 40 per cent.

China will have built around 1,300 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar capacity by the end of 2024, the CEC expects, meaning it will have already exceeded its official target of 1,200 GW by 2030.

The CEC also said that generating capacity from all non-fossil fuel sources – including nuclear and hydro – made up more than half of the total for the first time in 2023.

The CEC sees electricity consumption growing by 6 per cent this year, down just slightly from 2023’s 6.7 per cent growth rate, when demand was recovering from a low base following the pandemic.

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It warned that power supply could be tight during the peak season, recommending improved measures to curb demand during peak periods, such as time-of-use pricing.

The CEC urged the government to develop a so-called capacity payment system for battery storage and other new energy storage technologies as soon as possible, to help incorporate more renewable energy into the grid. It also suggested speeding up the construction of pumped hydro storage. REUTERS