China adds new clean power equivalent to UK’s entire electricity output

China added as much new clean energy generation in the first half of this year as the UK produced from all sources in the same period last year, data shows, as wind and solar power generation continued to surge in the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases.

Electricity generation from coal and gas dropped by 5% in China in July, year on year, according to an update from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) thinktank, basing its analysis on data released by the Chinese government on Thursday.

The latest figures reinforce a clear trend – China is racing ahead in renewable energy, adding record-breaking amounts of solar and wind generation, eclipsing the rest of the world. It is a transformation that analysts are saying could be the world’s best hope yet of staving off climate catastrophe.

“China is leading against all of its competitors, when it comes to green technology,” said Li Shuo, the director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Policy Institute in Washington DC. “China has a real advantage, and has established a huge green industry.”

Last year, China installed a record 293GW of wind and solar generating capacity. Last month, solar and wind capacity outstripped China’s coal-fired electricity capacity. By 2026, solar power alone will surpass coal as China’s primary energy source, with a capacity of more than 1.38TW, or 150GW more than coal, according to forecasts by Rystad Energy.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/16/china-generating-enough-clean-energy-match-uk-entire-electricity-output