China's renewable power expansion in 2021... not easy to grasp

𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘢’𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 2021, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘱 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦…

Wind power in China is booming, offshore wind saw a 16.9 gigawatt (GW) increase in capacity in 2021, larger than any other country added during the past five years combined. On top of that, China brought online an extra 30.67 GW of onshore wind energy last year.

China’s solar power capacity reached 306 GW by the end of last year with a record 54.9 GW added just in 2021. In total, 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟲𝟯𝟱 𝗚𝗪 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿, 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽 𝟮𝟲.𝟳% 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗮’𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆.

The renewable energy capacity is scheduled to increase to 𝟭,𝟮𝟬𝟬 𝗚𝗪 𝗯𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟯𝟬. Yet, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), China will meet this target four years earlier - if current speeds are consistent. China’s wind power capacity has increased beyond expectations, and a lot of power comes from offshore wind turbines.

No easy to grasp the scale or impact of renewable energy expansion in China. In a single year of 2021, China added more than 100 GW of wind and solar capacity which is more than the total ever built globally except for just two other countries. And 2021 is not even leading. In 2020, 120 GW was added in wind and solar capacity.

To get an idea, 1 GW is equivalent to power about 750,000 homes or the capacity size of 2 coal-fired power plants. In perspective the electricity system capacity in the Netherlands is about 32 GW while the capacity in Germany about 218 GW (2019). So one can do some imagination for an annual 100 GW capacity expansion.

𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗮’𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. Kiran Aziz, Head of Responsible Investment at KLP, Norway’s largest pension fund was quoted “From the perspective of a coal-free ESG investor, this new announcement of connecting around 17 GW offshore wind just last year will resonate in boardrooms. Its wind sector is now increasingly attractive for foreign investment, alongside its solar sector”

Read more about what makes China’s renewable energy capacity track possible here :

What the 2021 China Wind Power Boom Means for the World | EnergyTrackerAsia

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