China’s installed solar and wind capacity is expected to overtake that of coal for the first time in 2024, an industry body said January 30.

According to Reuters, the China Electricity Council (CEC) said in a yearly report that wind and solar energy would make up about 40% of installed power generation capacity in 2024, compared to coal's 37% capacity.

At the end of 2023, wind and solar energy made up 36% of China’s capacity while coal came in at just under 40%. Generating capacity from all non-fossil fuel sources made up more than half the country’s total for the first time in 2023.

By the end of 2024, the CEC expects China will have built around 1,300 gigawatts (GW) of solar and wind capacity, meaning the country will already exceed its target of 1,200 GW by 2030.

The CEC did not provide a forecasted breakdown of actual power generation, which was still dominated by coal in 2023, making up almost 60% of the electricity consumed in China. It predicted that electricity consumption will grow in the country by 6% in 2024, which is slightly down from a growth rate of 6.7% in 2023.

The CEC urged the Chinese government to develop a capacity payment system that incentivizes battery storage and other new energy storage technologies to incorporate renewable energy into the country’s power grid. The CEC also advised China to speed up the construction of pumped hydro storage.