Renewable energy capacity up in H1

China's renewable energy sector cemented its dominance in new power capacity additions in the first half, accounting for 60 percent of the nation's total capacity, the National Energy Administration said on Thursday.

China added 268 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity during the first six months, a 99.3 percent increase year-on-year, representing 91.5 percent of all new capacity additions, said Pan Huimin, deputy head of the NEA's new and renewable energy department.

Wind power accounted for 51.39 GW of the new capacity, while solar power contributed 212 GW, as the country accelerates its green energy transition, Pan said during a news conference in Beijing on Thursday.

By the end of June, China's total renewable energy capacity stood at around 2.16 terawatts, a 30.6 percent increase year-on-year, accounting for approximately 59.2 percent of the country's total installed capacity, the administration said.

After wind and solar power capacity surpassed coal-fired power capacity for the first time in March, the proportion of non-fossil energy power generation capacity exceeded 60 percent for the first time in May, said Lin Boqiang, head of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University.

Zhang Lin, head of China Electricity Council's planning and development department, said the country's renewable energy sector is expected to maintain rapid growth, with average annual newly installed capacity reaching 200-300 million kilowatts during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30).

The council expects China's power generation capacity to hit a record high this year, driven by a rapid expansion of renewable energy resources.

The NEA said that new wind and solar power installations doubled in the first half compared to the same period last year. Authorities are also piloting new power system construction to support the high-quality development of new energy resources.

The country's electric vehicle charging infrastructure is also expanding rapidly. By the end of June, China had 16.1 million EV charging points.

The NEA said it will strengthen overall planning and policy development to improve the charging network, enhance the quality of facility operation services and accelerate the construction of high-quality charging infrastructure.

zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn