China's total installed power capacity expected to exceed 50 bln kW by 2030

(ECNS) -- China's total installed power generation capacity is expected to exceed 50 billion kilowatts during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), a senior official with the China Electricity Council said Thursday.

Ye Jing, head of the Power Supply and Demand Analysis Division of the Department of Statistics and Digital Intelligence at the China Electricity Council, said at a news conference in Beijing that by the end of May, China's total installed capacity had reached 40.1 billion kW — the first time a country has surpassed the 40 billion kW mark.

By the end of June, solar power had caught up with coal power, each accounting for 31.5% of total installed capacity, Ye said. Solar has become one of the country's largest power sources alongside coal, he added, noting that new energy is now the main driver of capacity growth.

A report released by the CEC on the same day showed that total installed power generation capacity reached 40.4 billion kW as of the end of June. Grid-connected wind power accounted for 16.8% (680 million kW). Hydropower made up 11.2%.

Ye described the power sector's green transition as entering a new phase focused on large-scale quality improvement and systematic development.

The future overall structure, he said, will feature new energy as the dominant source of installed capacity and clean energy as the main source of electricity generation. The overall structure will show "green growth and coal stability," with wind and solar continuing to expand as the core drivers of capacity additions.

(By Tang Yuxian)