- China installed 20.37 GW new solar PV capacity in the months of January 2023 and February 2023
- Its cumulative installed capacity at the end of February 2023 reached 413 GW, according to the NEA
- For wind energy, total installed capacity has now gone up to 370 GW with the addition of 5.84 GW in the 1st 2 months
China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) counts 20.37 GW new solar PV capacity to have been installed in January 2023 and February 2023 taking the country’s total solar fleet to exceed 413 GW, reflecting an annual increase of 30.8%.
In the initial 2 months of the year, 20.37 GW installed capacity was an increase of more than 87% over 10.86 GW the country said it deployed a year back (see China Installed 31 GW Solar PV In H1/2022).
In comparison, wind energy additions grew by 5.84 GW in the initial 2 months taking the cumulative capacity of this renewable energy source in the country to 371.2 GW. This means China’s total installed solar and wind power capacity is inching closer to 800 GW, two thirds on its way to 1.2 TW, which it aims to have by 2030. However, the World Bank sees more potential and recommends the country to target 1.7 TW instead (see China Must Target 120 GW/Year Wind+Solar Till 2030).
“From January to February, the investment in power projects of major power generation enterprises across the country was RMB 67.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 43.6%. Among them, nuclear power was RMB 8.7 billion, a year-on-year increase of 44.8%; solar power generation was RMB 28.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 199.9%,” stated the NEA.
China exited the year 2022 with 87.41 GW when its cumulative reached 390 GW having installed over 34.8 GW within Q4/2022 alone (see China Exited 2022 With 87 GW+ New PV Capacity).
According to the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA), in 2023 China is expected to install between 95 GW to 120 GW new PV capacity. CPIA Honorary Chairman Wang Bohua recently said in the future, the Chinese PV industry should focus on large size silicon wafers, n-type cell technology, including solar power in power market transactions and component recycling.
Speaking of recycling, TaiyangNews will organize our 1st Solar and Sustainability Virtual Conference on March 30, 2023 to discuss how leading solar industry stakeholders are implementing sustainability into their business. Registrations are free and can be done here.
