China’s clean energy boom ‘an example to the entire world’, IEA analyst says

Renewable capacity is expanding at an unprecedented pace, with China’s solar PV installations last year equal to the world’s total in 2022, report says

Nation also dominates in solar manufacturing, which has pushed down the cost of modules by more than 80 per cent in a decade, according to analyst

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The IEA says China could reach its 2030 goal of installing 1,200 gigawatts of wind and solar capacity this year. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 5:00pm, 27 Jan 2024

China has emerged as a leader in renewable energy with production capacity expanding at an unprecedented pace, which an International Energy Agency analyst says will benefit not just the nation but the planet.

What China has achieved is “an example to the entire world”, according to Heymi Bahar, a senior analyst with the IEA.

He made the remarks after the IEA released its annual renewable outlook report earlier this month.

China makes about 80 per cent of the world’s solar PV modules. Photo: Xinhua

According to the report, China’s renewable energy capacity expansion last year was driven by solar photovoltaic installations, which were equal to the total solar capacity added by the rest of the world in 2022.

Bahar said China was also the biggest producer of solar PV modules, manufacturing around 80 per cent of the modules worldwide.

That had led to a decline in solar module prices of more than an 80 per cent over the last decade, he said.

Other countries are trying to compete against China in solar manufacturing. In the last few years, the United States and European Union have sought to encourage domestic manufacturing, including by offering subsidies for green tech such as solar energy.

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