The Global Energy Monitor (GEM) has revealed that China is adding solar and wind power at record pace, while the emergence of offshore wind presents another opportunity.

Data in the Global Solar and Wind Power Trackers show that China is currently building 510GW of utility-scale solar and wind capacity, an increase of 57 per cent over the previous year and three-quarters of all such capacity under construction globally. In total, China has 1.3TW of utility-scale solar and wind capacity in development, which could generate more electricity than neighbouring Japan consumed in all of 2023.

Mengqi Zhang, researcher at Global Energy Monitor, said, “China has long been head and shoulders above the rest in building wind and solar, so it’s not surprising to see the uptick in offshore capacity. What is really impressive is just how much potential there is to displace emissions from fossil fuels and drive a clean energy transition along the coast’s industrial heartland.”

The Global Solar Power Tracker is a worldwide dataset of utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal facilities. It covers all operating solar farm phases with capacities of 1 megawatt (MW) or more and all announced, pre-construction, construction, and shelved projects with capacities greater than 20 MW. The Global Wind Power Tracker is a worldwide dataset of utility-scale, on- and offshore wind facilities. It includes wind farm phases with capacities of 10 megawatts (MW) or more.

---