China leads global green energy transition, but not without challenges

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
29 Jun 2023 15:36

China's solar capacity utilization in the first quarter of 2023 surpasses that of the rest of the world combined.

An aerial photo shows solar panels built over a sewage treatment plant in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China, on August 4, 2022 (AFP)

China is heading to become the world leader in renewable power and might eventually end up surpassing its own green energy targets, a report published by The Guardian on Thursday highlighted.

By 2025, China is set to hit its 2030 goal of producing 1,200 gigawatts through wind and solar power, doubling the output it produces today, Global Energy Monitor - a US-based NGO that catalogs fossil fuel and renewable energy projects worldwide - said in the report.

As per the energy-monitoring body, in just the first quarter of the year, China utilized a solar capacity of 228GW, which is more than the rest of the world combined.

Current solar farms under construction will add another 379GW, the report added, which is triple that of the United States and nearly double that of the EU.

Since 2017, China's power production from wind farms doubled, passing 310GW in 2023, which is almost equal to the next top seven countries combined. The Asian giant is on the path to introducing another 317GW before the end of 2025.

“This new data provides unrivalled granularity about China’s jaw-dropping surge in solar and wind capacity,” said Dorothy Mei, a project manager at Global Energy Monitor.

“As we closely monitor the implementation of prospective projects, this detailed information becomes indispensable in navigating the country’s energy landscape.”

China announced in 2020 that it aims to meet "reach peak carbon emissions by 2030," and carbon neutrality by 2060.

Global Energy Monitor mentioned that the country's record progress has been mainly due to a broad number of policies implemented by the government to restrict the use of fossil energy sources and promote green power, which also included massive subsidies to incentivize developers and companies in the market.

Last Sunday, China launched the world’s largest hybrid solar-hydro energy plant dubbed Kela in the Tibetan plateau. According to the power plan, it can have an annual production of 2bn kW hours of electricity - a number that exceeds the power consumption of over 700,000 households.

However, this project is just the first phase of a massive green energy project in the Yalong River basin that is expected to increase its current 20GW capacity to reach 50GW by 2030.

But challenges have been facing the world's second-largest economy in the past few years, including record heatwaves and drought that heavily impacted hydropower stations, resulting in falling electricity output that in many cases resulted in factory shutdowns.

While the Kela power plant is located west of China, along with most energy stations, most of the country's consumption is in the east. Transporting electricity across thousands of kilometers is not feasible.

This forced the government to maintain, or even increase, coal plants to compensate for the production versus consumption gap amid rising demand in the booming economy.

According to the report, in the first quarter of this year, more coal energy plants were approved compared to all of 2021.

“China is making strides,” said Martin Weil, a researcher at Global Energy Monitor and a co-author of the report.

“But with coal still holding sway as the dominant power source, the country needs bolder advancements in energy storage and green technologies for a secure energy future.”