Solar power installations led the charge, rising 145 per cent YoY to 128.94 million kW, followed by wind power at 33.48 million kW, Wang Dapeng, deputy head of the administration’s new energy and renewable energy department, was quoted as saying by local media reports.
In line with its commitment to harness solar and wind energy, China has expedited construction in the Gobi Desert and other arid regions. Work has commenced on all the first large-scale wind and solar power bases, launched at the end of 2021, totalling around 100 gigawatts of capacity in desert areas. These bases are primarily located in regions like Xinjiang Uygur, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia Hui, as well as Qinghai, Gansu, and Shaanxi provinces, which are abundant in wind and solar resources.
Furthermore, construction has started on the second group of bases, featuring over 30 million kW of wind and solar power capacity in desert areas. The project list for the third group has also been officially issued.
The steady increase in renewable resources was accompanied by a 20.7 per cent spike in energy investments during the first eight months of this year, reaching nearly 1.5 trillion yuan (around $205 billion), with non-fossil energy projects making up more than 40 per cent of the total national energy investment.
ALCHEMPro News Desk (NB)
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