Wind, solar to fuel China's renewables growth to 1.77 TW by 2030

China’s installed renewable power capacity, excluding hydropower, is forecast to reach 1,772.05 GW in 2030, fuelled by the rapid growth of solar and onshore wind, GlobalData says in a new report.

Taking the 572.89 GW in 2020 as a baseline, the country’s renewable power capacity is expected to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12%. The expansion is seen to be backed by the government’s efforts to reduce China’s reliance on fossil fuels and meet carbon reduction goals. Thanks to the initiatives undertaken in line with this plan, the country will “comfortably meet” its target of lifting its installed solar and wind power capacity to over 1,200 GW by 2030, with the total anticipated to reach around 1,690 GW, said power analyst Rohit Ravetkar.

Ravetkar went on to say, however, that the integration of further renewable energy capacity into the grid can be a major challenge due to the distance between renewable power generation locations and the areas of high power demand.

At end-2020, China had 253.69 GW of installed solar photovoltaic (PV) and 279.04 GW of wind parks, while by 2030, the capacities will stand at 890.31 GW and 742.62 GW, respectively.

China had 3 GW of solar farms under construction at the end of June and some 34.3 GW of projects undergoing permitting. On the wind energy front, 29.4 GW of plants were under construction and 42.9 GW in the permitting stages.

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