China's solar power generation grows faster than other sources

China’s solar power generation growth exceeded other power sources over the first four months as the country continues to upgrade its energy structure, the National Reform and Development Commission said today.

From January to April, solar power generation in China surged 26.4 percent from a year ago, faster than the 7.3 percent annual growth for coal power, 6.5 percent for nuclear power and 22.6 percent for wind power. But generation of hydropower fell 2.6 percent amid shrinking water flow in main dams, the top economic planner said.

“Although solar power accounted for less than 2 percent of China’s overall electricity generation last year, it is surpassing other sources in growth as China is taking great efforts to boost its use and supply,” said Alex Liu, analyst for energy and public utilities at UBS.

China's newly-installed clean energy accounted for 74.3 percent of the total nationwide from January to March, said the China Electricity Council in a recent report.

The central government has called for provinces nationwide to ensure the consumption of wind and solar power takes up at least 8 percent of total energy use, “above the figure of less than 6 percent last year,” Liu said.

China has installed 10 gigawatts of solar power in the first quarter, “above the 4 gigawatts in the same period of last year,” Liu said, adding that more solar power installations are expected in the months.