China ‘dominates’ global hydropower development amid energy storage push: report
China accounted for almost all of Asia’s new hydropower capacity in 2024 as it bets on pumped storage to cope with a changing climate
The country was responsible for 14.4 gigawatts of the 24.6GW of new hydropower capacity that came online globally last year, as it bets big on the energy source as an effective way to maintain a stable grid amid the green transition.
More than half of the hydropower capacity China added last year came in the form of pumped storage hydropower (PSH) projects, which store massive amounts of water in reservoirs that can then be released when an electricity grid is running low on power, according to the International Hydropower Association study released on Wednesday.
China has doubled down on its dam-building spree since 2020, when Beijing set a target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
“With more than 200GW of PSH projects under construction or approved, China is on track to exceed its 2030 target of 120GW, potentially reaching 130GW by the end of the decade,” the study said.
China currently has nearly 436GW of installed hydropower capacity, which represents more than three-quarters of Asia’s total capacity, according to the report.