Published: August 2, 2024 - Source: Science and Technology Daily
“As of the end of June 2024, China’s total installed capacity for renewable energy reached 1.653 billion kW, a 25% increase year-on-year, accounting for approximately 53.8% of the country’s total power generation capacity,” stated Pan Huimin, Deputy Director of the New Energy and Renewable Energy Department of the National Energy Administration (NEA), during a press conference held on July 31. Pan highlighted that China's renewable energy capacity continues to achieve significant milestones.
As of June 2024, China's hydropower capacity reached 427 million kW, wind power capacity reached 467 million kW, solar power capacity reached 714 million kW, and biomass power capacity reached 45.3 million kW. The combined wind and solar power capacity (1.18 billion kW) has now surpassed coal power capacity (1.17 billion kW).
“In the first half of 2024, China added 134 million kW of new renewable energy capacity, a 24% increase year-on-year, representing 88% of the country's total newly installed power capacity,” Pan reported. Of this, hydropower contributed 4.99 million kW, wind power added 25.84 million kW, solar power added 102 million kW, and biomass power added 1.16 million kW.
Pan further noted that renewable energy generation is steadily advancing to new levels. In the first half of 2024, China generated 1.56 trillion kWh from renewable sources, a 22% increase year-on-year, accounting for about 35.1% of the country’s total electricity generation. Wind and solar energy together produced 900.7 billion kWh, representing about 20% of the total, with a 23.5% year-on-year growth. This figure exceeded electricity consumption by the tertiary sector (852.5 billion kWh) and residential electricity consumption (675.7 billion kWh).
In specific sectors, large-scale hydropower generation reached 552.6 billion kWh in the first half of 2024, with an average utilization rate of 1,477 hours. Wind power generation was 508.8 billion kWh, a 10% increase year-on-year, with a utilization rate of 96.1%. Solar power generation reached 391.4 billion kWh, a 47% increase year-on-year, with a utilization rate of 97%.
“Since 2024, the operational level of new energy storage systems has continued to improve, playing an increasingly vital role in balancing energy supply,” said Bian Guangqi, Deputy Director of the Energy Conservation and Technology Equipment Department of the NEA. As of the end of June 2024, the cumulative installed capacity of newly operational energy storage projects reached 44.44 million kW (99.06 million kWh), a growth of more than 40% compared to the end of 2023.
Bian explained that various new energy storage technologies, including compressed air energy storage, flow batteries, and sodium-ion batteries, have come online, advancing the diversification of energy storage technologies. By mid-2024, lithium-ion battery storage represented 97.0% of the total, compressed air energy storage 1.1%, lead-carbon (acid) battery storage 0.8%, flow battery storage 0.4%, and other technologies 0.7%.
From a regional perspective, the northwest and north-central regions accounted for over 50% of newly operational energy storage capacity, with 27.3% in the northwest and 27.2% in the north-central region. Regarding application scenarios, independent and shared energy storage installations made up 45.3%, new energy-integrated storage 42.8%, and other applications 11.9%.
“In the next phase, the NEA will strengthen planning guidance, enhance pilot demonstrations, optimize dispatch and utilization, improve the standardization system, and refine market mechanisms to drive the high-quality development of the new energy storage industry,” Bian concluded.
