365 Days of Climate Awareness 313 China and Renewable energy

China is the undisputed world leader in renewable power generation. In 2021 China had more than 1 TW (Terawatt = 10¹² W = 1 million megawatts) of renewable generation, 43% of the country’s total capacity (generating potential, not the same as actual power generated). China’s renewable mix involves solar, hydro and wind power. As in the United States, renewable electricity generation is viewed as a triple benefit: (1) lowered carbon emissions and pollution of the environment (like Beijing’s infamous brown fogs); (2) reduced spending on fuel, easing the national budget; and (3) energy independence, to reduce and ultimately eliminate the need for foreign sources of energy.

Beijing's brown fog.

China's electricity generation mix through the years.

The largest component of China’s renewable electricity mix is hydropower, having produced 1,340 TWh (Terawatt-hours), with wind power second at 655 TWh, and solar at 327 TWh. There are more than 46,000 hydroelectric dams in the country, ranging from small units providing local power to the giant Three Gorges Dam with 22.5 GW of capacity. Though China’s installed capacity leads the world, the efficiency of the stations is rated at only 31%, a reflection on the age of many of the installations (pre-1970’s), and their potential to be updated and greatly increase the country’s renewable power generation (efficiency of 90% is common today).

Electricity generated by wind in China, 2005-2021.

Installed wind generation capacity in China, 2005-2021.

China has the world’s largest wind resources, most of which is offshore. The Chinese have increased their wind generation capacity in almost linear fashion over the past decade-plus, vaulting from fourth to first globally in that measure between 2009 and 2021. In 2021 the Chinese installed nearly 17 GW of offshore wind capacity, bringing their total to 26 GW, almost half of the global total of 54 GW.

Average wind speeds in China.

A similar story can be told for solar capacity, particularly photovoltaic (PV) as opposed to steam generation. Photovoltaic power is based a chemical process in which light impacting the chemicals of a solar panel directly causes an electrical current. By the end of 2020, China had 253 MW of installed PV capacity, about a third of the world’s total. This represents a small share of China’s overall energy mix—only 3.5% of installed capacity, and does not include some of the concentrated solar power (CSP) plants farther south, where solar energy is collected by mirrors and focused on a central point, usually to heat water into steam for power generation.

Installed photovoltaic (PV) generation capacity.

In addition to a serious national commitment to increasing renewable power generation, China is a world leader in parts manufacture for renewables, especially wind turbine blades and PV cells. The Chinese PV industry has come under particular criticism because of its industrial waste and China’s reported use of forced labor, but it has come to dominate the global market: as of 2019, 79% of PV cells originated in China. China does not dominate the world market for wind turbine blades, however, sharing about 45% of the global market with the US.

Tomorrow: the Three Gorges dam.

Be brave, and be well.