China Wind & Solar: Output Lags Capacity
By Robert Bradley Jr. -- July 14, 2026
Ethan Tan on social media shared the findings of a recent, neglected study on how China’s wind and solar push is more bark than bite. “China has a lot of renewable, zero emission power gen capacity,” he writes. “But they are mainly located too far to matter.”
He quotes from “Why Wind and Solar Power is Going to ‘Waste’ in China in the Global Energy Crisis” (South China Morning Post), which summarized a study (paywall) from Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
The “wasted” wind and solar energy stems from inflexible grid management that continues to position coal as a stabilising source of power and stymies a clean energy expansion that could otherwise generate electricity equivalent to the needs of France, according to analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) think tank.
By the end of March, renewable energy accounted for 60.4 per cent of China’s total installed capacity and accounted for about 37 per cent of actual power generation in the first quarter, according to Xinhua.”
“So,” Tan continues, quoting from the article:
https://www.masterresource.org/china-international/china-wind-solar-output-lags-capacity/
