China installed more solar panels in 2023 than any country in its entire history

China, known as the world's biggest polluter, is now leading the world in solar expansion, with 1.4 terawatts of installed renewable power capacity at the end of 2023. According to China's National Energy Administration, solar alone accounts for 216.9 gigawatts in 2023.

The growth of renewables is rapid, and China has now generated more solar power in a single year than the US has in its entire history (175.2 gigawatts) and more than any other country overall, BloombergNEF estimates.

Growth in wind, biomass and hydroelectric power is also impressive. China probably installed 60 % of the world's wind turbines last year, according to BloombergNEF, and its wind capacity is expected to grow by about 11 % this year. China has set a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2060, and investment in clean energy, particularly EVs and solar power, has increased massively over the past year.

And we estimate that all of this contributed 40 % to China's GDP growth last year. Without this growth in clean energy, growth would have been three %, not 5.2 %.

- Lauri Myllyvirta of the Research Centre for Energy and Clean Air in Finland

It seems paradoxical that China's CO2 emissions are expected to fall soon even as the country continues to build new coal-fired power plants, which provide about 59 % of the country's electricity. However, officials say the new plants will only serve as a back-up, and coal consumption is expected to fall from 2025.

But the real challenge for China is to wean itself off its dependence on fossil fuels, especially coal.

- Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society think tank in Washington.