Latest News

Data show that despite the rapid growth of China's renewable energy capacity, its utilisation is still low.

Official statistics released on Monday showed that China's renewable energy potential in distant provinces is increasingly being wasted, as it rushes to increase long-distance transmissions and energy storage systems to fill the gap.

According to the National New Energy Consumption Monitoring and Early Warning Center, the curtailment rate of solar power increased to 6.6% during the first half 2025 from just 3.9% a year ago. The rate for wind also rose from 3% to 5.7%. Grid managers must limit the power entering the grid in order to balance the demand for electricity or because of grid infrastructure limitations. China's national curtailment limit for renewables is 10%. This was reduced from 5% last year as it became more difficult to integrate increasing amounts of renewable energy in the grid.

According to the Energy Administrator, China installed 268GW in solar and wind energy between January and June. This is nearly as much power as the United States ever built.

China's figures at the national level masked an increase in certain provinces that are heavy on renewable energy.

Tibet reduced wind power by 30.2% in the first half 2025, compared to 2.3% one year ago. It reduced 33.9%, up from just 5.1%.

Qinghai, in the northwest, has reduced its solar power by 15.2%. This is up from 8.8%.

The regions with the highest electricity demand continue to report low curtailment rate, including none in Shanghai and Chongqing.

Analysts say that the underutilisation of renewable energy is driving China to shift its focus away from building rapid renewable plants and towards ensuring more power is delivered to the grid.

"China will continue to push for decarbonisation but not necessarily renewable installation." Haoxin Mu, Natixis' economist, said that China could shift its focus on policy or the target from "installation volume" to utilisation.

Mu stated that more energy storage was needed. This could increase renewable usage by storing excess electricity when the supply exceeds the demand. Analysts at BMI stated in a note from July that China's investment in projects such as the world's biggest hydropower dam in Tibet is due to the rising curtailment.

Hydropower, unlike wind and solar power, can be dispatched, which means that output can be adjusted according to demand. BMI analysts say that China has also responded to the increasing curtailment in non-hydro renewables in the last two years by building high-voltage transmission lines to move electricity between huge power plants located in the west and electricity-hungry eastern cities. (Reporting and editing by Hugh Lawson; Colleen Waye)

(source: Reuters)