China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) has released its power industry statistics for 2023, which show that solar power capacity soared by 55% to surpass 609 GW, while wind power installed capacity rose by nearly 21%, surpassing 441 GW. Thermal power capacity increased by 4.1% in 2023 to around 1,390 GW, nuclear capacity by 2.4% to nearly 57 GW and hydropower capacity by 1.8% to above 421 GW. Overall, China’s installed capacity rose by nearly 14% in 2023 to reach nearly 2,920 GW.
China’s capacity growth has been driven by a set of government targets announced in the country’s Five-Year Plan released in 2020, under which China plans to achieve peak emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. The Chinese Government has committed to build 1,200 GW of renewables capacity by 2030.
In addition, the NEA announced that electricity consumption in China increased by 6.7% in 2023 (including +6.5% for industry, +12% for services and +0.9% for households).