Over the past few years, People's Republic of China has dramatically expanded its renewable energy infrastructure — and the results are beginning to show. As of 2025, China’s installed capacity of wind and solar power has surpassed its thermal (fossil fuel) power capacity.
In 2024 alone, the country added hundreds of gigawatts of wind and solar capacity — a pace that exceeded many analysts’ expectations.
Thanks to this transition, over 56 % of China’s total installed power generation capacity now comes from renewables, marking a major structural shift in its energy landscape.
The transformation isn’t accidental — it’s being driven by deliberate policies and long-term planning. China has committed to peaking carbon emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
Under the current five-year plan (2021–2025), the country set targets for boosting non-fossil energy use and rapidly scaling up renewables — goals it is now exceeding ahead of schedule.
At the same time, China has greatly expanded its clean-energy industrial base: from solar panel manufacturing to battery production and energy-storage solutions. This helps not just domestic power supply, but global renewable-tech supply chains as well.
China’s push for sustainability isn’t limited to just electricity generation. The country has built the world’s largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system, and has also invested heavily in upgrading infrastructure: ports, industrial zones and logistics hubs are being rewired to run on clean energy.
In the transport sector, electric vehicles (EVs) and clean-energy mobility are emerging as priorities, helping reduce urban pollution and oil dependence.
At the same time, China continues large-scale afforestation and ecological conservation efforts. As of 2023, forest coverage reached about 25%, and the restored forests and grasslands contribute significantly to carbon-sink capacity.
By scaling up renewables so rapidly, China is also influencing global energy economics. Mass manufacture and deployment of solar panels, wind turbines and battery systems by Chinese firms have helped drive down global costs of clean power — making green energy more accessible worldwide.
Moreover, through exports and overseas cooperation, China contributes to lowering carbon emissions globally — especially in developing nations where clean technology adoption is rising.
Of course, China still faces hurdles. Its legacy coal infrastructure and high fossil-fuel demand in some sectors complicate a complete switch to clean energy.
And while renewables now dominate new installations and capacity, fully integrating them — including storage, grid stability and demand-side management — remains a work in progress.
However, the rapid pace of change, public commitment to climate goals, and growing clean-energy industrial capacity suggest China is making a serious bid to transform itself into a sustainability-forward power.
In short: China’s sustainability journey — once dismissed as wishful thinking — is now under way in full force. With clean energy capacity expanding at record speed, massive investments, and a comprehensive green policy agenda, China may well emerge as a global leader in balancing economic growth with environmental responsibility.