China sets sights on higher-efficiency use of renewable energy

December 05, 2025 (MLN):  China is set to prioritize higher-efficiency use of its rapidly growing renewable energy resources during the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026–2030), the next phase of the country’s green transition.

Over the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–2025), China’s shift toward green and low-carbon development advanced at record speed, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA), APP reported.

 Renewable electricity made up roughly one-third of the nation’s total power consumption during the period.

Wind, solar and other non-fossil sources continued to expand rapidly, helping China build the world’s largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system.

The country’s renewable energy share of total installed capacity rose from about 40% in 2021 to nearly 60 % in 2025, NEA data showed.

Li Chuangjun, director of the NEA’s new energy and renewable energy department, said wind and solar capacity surged from 530 million kilowatts in 2020 to 1.68 billion kilowatts by July 2025an average annual growth rate of 28%.

Their contribution to national electricity consumption also climbed from 9.7% in 2020 to 18.6% in 2024.

China further consolidated its global lead in clean-energy technology, accounting for over 40% of new-energy patents worldwide.

Meanwhile, new-type energy storage capacity expanded nearly 30-fold over five years, reaching about 95 million kilowatts by mid-2025.

The nation also maintained the world’s highest hydrogen production and consumption in 2024, surpassing 36 million tonnes.

More than half of global renewable-energy-based hydrogen capacity was located in China, according to NEA figures.

As the next planning cycle approaches, attention is turning to improving utilization rates of both newly built and existing renewable projects.

Expanding non-electric applications such as renewable heating and green hydrogen along with accelerating integrated technology innovation is expected to be a key part of China’s future energy roadmap.

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