China is producing twice as much solar and wind energy as the rest of the world combined
China is building nearly double the amount of wind and solar power capacity than all other countries combined, according to research published this week.
The world's second-largest economy is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases that drive climate change. China has pledged to bring carbon emissions to peak by 2030 and to zero by 2060.
China currently has a total of 339 gigawatts (GW) of capacity under construction, including 159 GW of wind and 180 GW of solar.
This is “almost double the rest of the world combined,” according to the study by Global Energy Monitor, a US-based NGO.
The figure far exceeds the second-ranked nation, the United States, which is building a total of just 40 GW, according to the report.
According to the report, China has started construction on a third of the new wind and solar capacity announced so far, compared to a global average of just seven percent.
“The stark contrast in construction rates illustrates the active nature of China's engagement in building renewable energy projects,” the study said. Beijing's vast expansion into renewable energy has some drawbacks.
The national grid uses highly polluting coal-fired power plants to cope with surges in energy demand.
The same grid now struggles to transmit the renewable energy generated in the remote north-western regions to the economic and demographic centers of the east.
However, China's combined wind and solar power capacity is set to surpass coal this year, according to the report.
The report said the rapid expansion of renewable energy raises hopes that Beijing's carbon emissions will peak sooner than expected. and then decline, also with the help of nuclear energy.
In a separate report released Thursday, the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) found that China issued no new permits for coal-based steel projects in the first half of 2024.
CREA said this was the first time on a six-monthly basis that there had been no new permits since China announced its “double carbon targets” in September 2020 – a development hailed as a possible “game changer ” by the independent research organization.
“With steel demand peaking in China and more scrap available, there is great potential to move away from coal-based production, which represents a significant opportunity for emissions reduction over the next 10 years” , we read in the CREA report.
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The article China is producing twice as much solar and wind energy as the rest of the world combined comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/la-cina-sta-realizzando-il-doppio-dellenergia-solare-ed-eolica-del-resto-del-mondo-messo-assieme/ on Sun, 14 Jul 2024 16:40:28 +0000.