China will add 15 GW of photovoltaic capacity in 2016, stated the National Energy Administration (NEA) of China on December 29, 2015. The country aims to add 20 GW of additional wind power in the new year, an increase of 21%.
The 15 GW plan for solar is surprising as China is planning to reach 150 GW by 2020, which would require additions of at least 20 GW per year. Recently, China has been battling an all-time high rate of pollution with the government issuing smog red alert in 10 cities advising residents in these cities to stay indoors in December 2015. On January 2, 2016, it issued the first alert of 2016 for pollution, an orange rating for the capital city of Beijing. Red is the highest level of pollution followed by orange, yellow and blue. This severe pollution coincided with the Climate Summit in Paris, where China agreed to increase its the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 20% by 2030, complying to its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC).
At the National Energy Work Conference in Beijing, the NEA recently said it plans to have 43 GW of solar installed at the end of 2015. However, the 15 GW target for 2015 is less than the originally planned 17.8 GW.
Referring to a Xinhua News Agency report, Bloomberg wrote that China will stop approving new coal mines in the next three years. And "To subsidize renewable-energy projects, the nation plans to raise a surcharge slapped onto electricity bills by about 27% to 0.019 RMB per kWh."