The National Energy Administration (NEA) of China says the country's cumulative installed solar PV capacity at the end of September 2021, exceeded 277.82 GW with the addition of 25.55 GW new solar within 9M/2021.
According to the official statistics released, during the initial 9 months of 2021, China added 9.15 GW of large scale solar and 16.4 GW of distributed PV capacity. Combine the 2 segments, this capacity is broken down into 5.33 GW in Q1/2021, 7.68 GW in Q2/2021 and even though the NEA doesn't specify, it should be 12.54 GW in Q3/2021. This compares to 18.7 GW it added in the same period a year back (see China Installed 18.7 GW New Solar PV During 9M/2020).
Of the cumulative 277.8 GW, 183.83 GW is installed in the country as centralized solar power stations, while remaining 93.99 GW as distributed capacity.
Meanwhile, the Chinese cabinet has released an action plan to reach CO2 peak before 2030 (see China Aims To Hit CO2 Peak Before 2030). The government targets a consumption ratio of non-fossil fuel energy to reach 20% of the total by 2025, which will be expanded to 25% by 2030 as it moves towards ensuring over 1,200 GW of wind and solar power capacity by 2030 (see China Aims For Over 1,200 GW Wind & Solar Power By 2030).
A recent joint study by US and Chinese researchers claims technical potential for solar power in China to grow from 99.2 PWh in 2020 to 146.1 PWh in 2060. Combined with storage, solar power is estimated to account for 43.2% total electricity demand of China in 2060, at less than $0.025 per kWh as per the research team (see China: Solar Power For Less Than $0.025/kWh?).
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