Thanks to massive investments in solar, wind, and nuclear power, China has topped four billion kilowatts of installed capacity, 1.7 times that of the United States and the European Union combined. And it is working to have a system operational by 2030 that will allow millions of idled electric vehicles to return energy to the grid to meet peak demand.

 

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – In the clash between global powers, in the age of artificial intelligence, the availability of energy resources is becoming an increasingly important factor, as the Hormuz crisis has amply demonstrated in recent weeks.

Precisely for this reason, some data recently published by the People's Republic of China are very revealing, showing the length Beijing is willing to go to overcome its dependence on fossil fuels.

China recently claimed to have become the first country in the world to exceed 4 billion kilowatts of installed electricity generation capacity. According to data by the National Energy Administration (NEA), total capacity reached 4.01 billion kilowatts at the end of May 2026.

To put this figure into perspective, this installed capacity is equivalent to about 1.7 times that of the United States and the European Union combined and represents nearly 30 per cent of the world total.

Furthermore, China's growth in power generation is accelerating rapidly. While it took eight years to go from one to two billion kilowatts, it took just over four years to reach three billion, and now less than two years to reach four billion.

But even more significant is the transformation of the energy mix. More than 60 per cent of the capacity currently installed in the People's Republic comes from non-fossil fuels.

By late May, renewable energy and other "green" energy sources (including nuclear) had reached a total capacity of 2.49 billion kilowatts, or 62 per cent of the national total, compared to approximately 32 per cent in 2012.

These figures are the result of massive investment in solar, wind, hydroelectric, and nuclear power in recent years, while maintaining the support of coal-fired power plants to ensure grid stability.

One of the latest projects is the Qiyuan offshore wind farm in Hainan Province, which, once completed, will alone produce 1.6 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.

The 2026-2030 Five-Year Plan for the construction of a new energy system, recently published by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration, also moves in this direction.

Wind and solar energy are expected to expand significantly with onshore facilities growing on a large scale, while offshore wind will progressively expand into deeper waters and further from the coast.

But China is also aiming for the large-scale development of new technologies such as concentrated solar thermal power (which relies not on sunlight like conventional panels, but on the heat it produces) and tidal energy.

The programme's most innovative idea concerns, however, the integration of electric vehicles into the national electricity system. Thanks to the world's largest electric car market, China now plans to turn millions of batteries into a gigantic distributed energy reserve.

By 2030, aggregate charging capacity regulated through vehicle-grid interaction is expected to reach about 50 gigawatts (the equivalent of 50 nuclear reactors), allowing electric cars to return energy to the grid during times of peak demand.

At the same time, to support the spread of electric mobility, the government plans to double charging infrastructure, bringing it from current levels to approximately 40 million charging points by 2030.

So-called virtual power plants will also play a central role. These digital systems would coordinate thousands of small plants, batteries, and consumers to provide grid stabilisation services. According to the plan, this regulation capacity must also exceed 50 gigawatts by the end of the decade.

The plan places significant emphasis on energy storage as well. The capacity of pumped-storage hydroelectric plants will reach approximately 160 gigawatts, while new electrochemical storage systems and other advanced technologies will reach 300 gigawatts, thus boosting grid stability and facilitating the integration of intermittent renewable sources.

Regarding nuclear power, Beijing will maintain its "active, safe, and orderly" development strategy with operational nuclear capacity expected to reach approximately 110 gigawatts by 2030 (up from 60 gigawatts currently), relying primarily on third-generation pressurised water reactors.

Finally, the plan seeks to rapidly develop the green hydrogen and sustainable fuels industry with hydrogen production from renewable sources expected to reach two million tonnes annually by 2030.

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• china
• energy
• renewables
• installed electricity generation capacity
• solar
• wind
• hydroelectric
• nuclear
• thermal
• coal
• pumped-storage hydroelectric plants