China’s combined wind and solar power capacity has surpassed coal-fired power for the first time, marking a historic milestone in the country’s clean energy transition, according to a senior official.
Source: Jiemian News
China’s combined wind and solar power capacity has surpassed coal-fired power for the first time, marking a historic milestone in the country’s clean energy transition, according to a senior official.
As of the end of April 2025, the country’s total installed renewable energy capacity reached 2.017 billion kilowatts, up 58% year-on-year. Wind and solar combined accounted for 1.53 billion kilowatts—surpassing coal power capacity for the first time, Song Hongkun, Deputy Director of the National Energy Administration (NEA), said at a State Council press conference on June 5.
In 2024, China added 373 GW of new renewable capacity, representing 86% of total new power installations. It marked the second consecutive year that new renewable additions exceeded 300 GW, with China contributing over half of all new renewable capacity installed globally.
To support the integration of these variable energy sources, the NEA has been advancing efforts to align power generation with grid infrastructure. “Wind and solar are inherently intermittent and require flexible power sources to maintain grid stability,” Song noted. “We are optimizing dispatch strategies and improving interprovincial coordination to better allocate resources.”
At the end of last year, the National Development and Reform Commission and the NEA jointly released the 2025–2027 Action Plan on Enhancing Power System Flexibility, which outlines measures to strengthen system-wide coordination, improve the dispatch of flexible resources, and expand market participation. The plan aims to enable the grid to absorb more than 200 GW of new renewable capacity annually between 2025 and 2027, and targets a nationwide renewable energy utilization rate of no less than 90% by 2027. Implementation is currently underway, Song added.
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