https://j.people.com.cn/n3/2026/0908/c95952-20497155.html
According to the State Council of China’s “Action Plan for Peaking Carbon Emissions during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030),” the total installed capacity of wind and solar power should be over 2.8 billion kilowatts (kW) by 2030.
During the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, China built the world’s largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system. By the end of 2025, China’s cumulative grid-connected capacity for wind and solar power had reached 1.84 billion kW. For the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, a target has been set to increase wind and solar capacity by approximately 1 billion kW, adding an average of about 200 million kW of grid-connected capacity annually.
China aims to raise the share of non-fossil energy consumption to 25% by 2030 and to over 30% by 2035, with a goal of reaching a total installed wind and solar capacity of 3.6 billion kW by 2035. The energy sector serves as the primary battleground for achieving the “Dual Carbon” (carbon peak and carbon neutrality) strategic goals, with new energy sources like wind and solar playing the leading role.
At a 500,000 kW integrated solar power and energy storage demonstration base in the Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, 16 different types of energy storage technologies are being tested and compared. Various types of energy storage systems—including semi-solid-state batteries, sodium-ion batteries, and all-solid-state batteries—are lined up alongside solar panels for comparative testing.
Why is it necessary to test so many energy storage technologies at a single site? The underlying issue is the gap between the share of new energy capacity in the power mix and the system’s ability to support it. New energy generation—primarily wind and solar—is characterized by intermittency, randomness, and volatility; it has not yet developed the power supply capability to effectively replace conventional power sources.
From the power generation perspective, new energy sources still lack the capacity to provide effective output during peak demand periods. For instance, solar power generates almost no electricity during the evening peak (6:00 PM to 10:00 PM) due to the absence of sunlight. Similarly, wind power often fails to ensure stable output during peak summer load periods.
From the energy storage perspective, current advanced energy storage systems—particularly electrochemical ones—have short discharge durations, making it difficult to bridge the power supply gap during evening peaks. According to statistics from the China Electricity Council, the average discharge duration for electrochemical energy storage systems was 2.53 hours as of the end of 2025, with systems capable of less than two hours of discharge accounting for 70% of total capacity. This is insufficient to meet the actual demand for four to six hours of power support required during evening peaks. A relevant official from the National Energy Administration has expressed the view that it is necessary to adhere to the principle of “establishing the new before discarding the old.” By advancing both new and existing initiatives in parallel, renewable energy can be further consolidated and made reliable, enabling a phased transition to safely and stably replace conventional energy sources.
According to Li Shaoyan, Chief Engineer at the New Energy Research Institute of the China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute (CREEI), by 2030, the installed capacity of new energy power generation will exceed 50% of the total; relying solely on the power grid for consumption and utilization is not feasible. When the grid’s capacity to absorb power is strained, utilizing new energy electricity for applications such as wind and solar-powered hydrogen production, heat supply, and space heating can not only alleviate the burden of grid balancing but also open up new scenarios and sectors for using wind and solar energy beyond the power sector.
Currently, the share of non-electric renewable energy utilization in China’s total energy consumption stands at only about 1%. There remains significant room for growth when compared to the demand for decarbonizing fuels, raw materials, and thermal energy in key sectors such as industry, transportation, and construction. Non-electric utilization is poised to become a crucial breakthrough for the consumption and utilization of renewable energy.