According to a new study, wind and solar power are seeing explosive growth in China and may contribute to the reduction of global carbon emissions far more quickly than was previously anticipated.
The installation of solar panels alone is rising at a rate that, by 2025, would be enough to raise worldwide capacity by 85 percent.
According to the authors, however, there has been an increase in the number of coal plants as well. This is partially due to the growing number of wind and solar farms.
Many people believe that China holds the key to the success of global efforts to reduce carbon emissions, which are the primary contributor to the current state of climate change.
The United States is the largest consumer of coal in the world, primarily for the generation of power. Around 69% of China’s total carbon dioxide emissions may be traced back to the country’s continued reliance on coal.
However, according to the findings of this recent study, China is rapidly expanding its capacity to generate power from renewable sources like wind and solar, which may have a big impact on reducing the negative effects of rising temperatures.
Global Energy Monitor (GEM), an independent research firm whose work is frequently used by the World Bank, the International Energy Agency, and governments, has conducted the study that has been presented here. GEM is an acronym for the company’s full name: Global Energy Monitor.
The paper examines China’s currently installed capacity for renewable energy sources, but it also provides estimates based on what the country has stated and what is now under construction over the next two years.
According to the findings of the study, China currently has more solar panels installed in large-scale projects than the rest of the world put together. Since 2017, the nation has more than doubled the capacity of its wind energy sector.
However, it seems that this is just the beginning. According to GEM, China is quickly expanding this industry and will more than double its capacity for wind and solar by the end of 2025. This information comes from GEM.
Compared to the levels that are already present, this would result in China increasing the number of wind turbines across the world by a factor of 50% and the number of large-scale solar installations throughout the world by a factor of 85%.
The present uptick in activity is the culmination of initiatives that date back more than twenty years.
During this time period, China has emerged as the top supplier of solar panels in the world, resulting in cost reductions across the whole supply chain. Because of this, solar and wind installation in China are now more economically competitive than ever before.
China was responsible for more than half of the world’s expenditures on wind and solar energy in 2018, which totaled more than a half a trillion dollars.
When President Xi Jinping first took office in 2020, he promised that China will develop more than 1,200 gigawatts of solar and wind power by the year 2030. According to this latest research, this goal will be achieved five years earlier than originally scheduled.
According to Martin Weil, another one of the report’s authors, “We believe that the surge in building renewables certainly provides a basis for peaking [China’s] carbon emissions earlier than 2030.” This was stated in the report.
However, despite the fact that this may be important news for reducing the effects of global warming, China’s continued reliance on coal presents a substantial obstacle.
In 2022, China constructed around two new coal-fired power stations every week. Many of these power stations were located on new solar and wind farms. These power stations were frequently built to offer backup power and to maintain continuity of energy supply.
“One can only hope that they are implemented in such a way that the proportion of renewables to coal is increased to the greatest extent possible.”
The expansion of hydrogen and the development of battery storage are two other significant indications that will be important in determining whether or not China is able to successfully shift away from its reliance on coal.
