Solar overtakes coal as China's largest source of installed power capacity
BEIJING, Sept 1 (Reuters) — Solar farms overtook coal plants in July to become China’s top source of installed power capacity, state-run media reported on Tuesday, although solar still lags well behind coal in terms of power generation.
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China had 1,288 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity as of the end of July, against coal’s 1,285 GW, according to energy administration figures and state-run media.
But solar’s contribution to power generation is lower since it cannot generate electricity when the sun isn’t shining. Wind and solar made up 24.6% of the power mix in the first half of the year, while coal was 49.7%, the energy administration previously said — the first time coal’s share dropped below 50%.
Renewable capacity had already topped coal capacity. In March last year, China’s installed wind and solar surpassed the coal fleet for the first time.
China’s new solar installations have slowed this year compared to last, following a shift from fixed feed-in tariffs to market-based pricing, although the total fleet continues to grow.
Reporting by Colleen Howe; Editing by Rashmi Aich
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