Clean tech use surges in China

An employee works on a solar panel production line in Huaibei, Anhui province. (LI XIN/FOR CHINA DAILY)

Clean-energy technologies made up more than 10 percent of China's economy last year for the first time ever, with sales and investments worth 13.6 trillion yuan ($1.9 trillion), according to a think tank.

These sectors grew three times as fast as the Chinese economy's overall growth rate, accounting for 26 percent of all gross domestic product growth in 2024, according to data released by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

The clean-energy sectors drove a quarter of the country's GDP growth last year and overtook real estate sales in value, it said.

The sectors, according to the organization, include renewables, nuclear power, electricity grids, energy storage, EVs and railways, which used technologies and infrastructure needed to decarbonize China's production and use of energy.

China's clean energy sector continued to soar last year, with the total installed capacity of wind and solar power surpassing 1.4 billion kilowatts, according to data released by the National Energy Administration.

The record combined capacity of wind and solar energy further reinforced the country's role as a global leader in renewable energy development, said industry experts.

Installation of renewable capacity in China has surged in recent years and the momentum has not been slowing, said Zhu Yicong, vice-president of renewables and power research at global consultancy Rystad Energy.

The global consultancy forecasts the country's solar sector to break records in the coming years, with total installed solar PV capacity expected to cross the 1,000 gigawatt mark by the end of 2026.

As China, the world leader in electricity production from such energy sources, prioritizes renewables in its energy strategy, it has shown clear leadership in global solar PV installations, and a large proportion of such installations are expected to be generated from the country in 2025, Zhu said.

This is echoed by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air., which believes that there is likely to be further growth in clean-energy investment in 2025 as major projects race to finish before the end of the country's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25).

According to the center, there has been a growing role for clean technology in China's economy, particularly the "new three sectors" — photovoltaics, lithium-ion batteries and new energy vehicles.

Of the three sectors, batteries and solar continued to dominate in terms of the economic contribution of clean energy in China, generating three-quarters of the value added and, overall, attracting more than half of all investment in the sectors, it said.