China new wind, solar capacity plummets in Q1

[SHANGHAI] New installations of wind and solar power in China plummeted in the first quarter of the year, data issued by the country's energy regulator indicates, with construction disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

China connected 2.36 gigawatts (GW) of new wind power capacity to the grid in the first three months of the year, the National Energy Commission (NEA) said late on Monday.

It did not give a comparative figure, but data from last year shows China installed 4.78 GW in the same period of 2019.

China's wind power capacity stood at 213 GW by end-March, or about 11 per cent of its total power capacity from all sources.

New solar power installations reached 3.95 GW over the first quarter, while official data released last year shows China installed 5.2 GW in the same period of 2019. Total solar capacity now stands at 208 GW, or about 10.8 per cent of the total.

The NEA did not give a reason why capacity installations had slowed, but the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) said in a statement published last week that the coronavirus had slowed grid connections and caused electricity consumption to decline in the first quarter.

However, the share of wind and solar power in China's total electricity production rose 1.9 percentage points on the year to reach 10.8 per cent over the first three months, the association said.

Renewable project developers have also been struggling with a decline in subsidies, with China trying to encourage renewable energy suppliers to sell power at the same price as traditional generators like coal and gas.

REUTERS