China Exceeds 1,000 GW RE Capacity

• NEA counts China's cumulative installed renewable energy capacity to have reached 1,002 GW as of October 2021 end
• To this mix, hydropower's share is the largest with 385 GW while solar PV contributes 282 GW
• With this installed capacity, renewable energy now accounts for 43.5% of the national energy mix

The National Energy Administration (NEA) of China says the cumulative installed renewable energy capacity of the country now exceeds 1,000 GW accounting for 43.5% of the national installed energy mix. Solar power contributes over 282 GW to this capacity.

China achieved the feat of as of October 31, 2021, with the NEA calculating solar energy as contributing 282 GW installed capacity to the total 1,002 GW, with hydropower representing the largest chunk of 385 GW.

Cumulative installed wind energy capacity till the end of October 2021 was 299 GW and biomass power generation reached 35.34 GW. On the whole, the cumulative installed has doubled from what was reported for the end of 2015.

Hailing the milestone, state-controlled newspaper Economic Daily pointed out that this renewable energy capacity is less than 1/10^th of the technologically developable amount, meaning the potential is huge. It added that put together, both solar and wind energy represent nearly 25% of the installed capacity, however it is not the power generating capacity of the country.

The NEA had previously announced cumulative solar PV capacity of China to have reached 278 GW till the end of September 2021. If by the end of October 2021, it grew to 282 GW it would mean China added 4 GW in October 2021 alone (see China Installed 25.5 GW New Solar In 9M/2021).