China’s Q1 2026 Green Energy Report: Renewable Installed Capacity Hits 2.395 Billion kW, Boosting Global Transition

On April 27, China’s National Energy Administration released the country’s “green scorecard” for the first quarter of 2026. As of the end of March this year, the country’s installed renewable energy capacity reached 2.395 billion kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 22% and accounting for about 60.4% of the total installed capacity. The steady growth of renewable energy power generation has strongly supported the country’s overall electricity supply, with the rising proportion of green power reflecting China’s solid progress in energy transition. A China marching towards green development is not only adding vitality to its own high-quality development but also injecting strong momentum into the global energy transition.

In today’s world, climate change risks are intensifying and the energy pattern is undergoing in-depth adjustments. The International Energy Agency released a latest report showing that global energy-related carbon emissions hit a record high in 2025, highlighting the urgency and arduousness of global energy transition. Meanwhile, geopolitical conflicts coupled with regional unrest have underscored the instability of traditional fossil energy supply. Faced with the dual challenges of climate change and energy security, a consensus is becoming increasingly clear: developing clean energy is never an optional “choice” but a “must-answer question” related to the sustainable development of humanity.

Based on the general trend of the times, China has planned energy reform with long-term strategic determination and addressed development challenges through systematic and scientific layout. From accelerating the construction of “desert, Gobi and wasteland” new energy bases to smoothing green power transmission channels such as “Ningxia Power to Hunan”, “Gansu Power to Zhejiang” and “Tibet-Guangdong DC”; from speeding up the construction of a national unified power market system to innovating and developing new formats such as direct green power connection and smart microgrids, a series of practical measures have been advanced and yielded results.

After years of development, China has built the world’s largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system, with installed hydropower, wind power and solar power capacities all ranking first in the world. Der Tagesspiegel commented that China’s green development practices have become an important supporting force in the global low-carbon transition process.

The value of green transition lies not only in optimizing the energy structure but also in empowering industrial upgrading with low-carbon momentum and accumulating endogenous power for high-quality development. Ember, a British energy think tank, released a report stating that many developing economies have long been trapped in the dilemma of balancing economic growth and ecological protection, and China’s green development practices have provided a solution. Wulanchabu in Inner Mongolia is a vivid example: relying on its unique wind and solar resources, the region has built a computing power hub, enabling green energy to empower the digital economy and attract many multinational enterprises to settle down.

While deepening its own green development, China has always adhered to the concept of openness, inclusiveness and mutual benefit, sharing green achievements with many countries around the world. In Syria, Chinese photovoltaic panels have laid a “blue ocean”, providing stable electricity for people affected by the war. In Laos, the China-Laos 500kV Interconnection Project, China’s first 500kV cross-border AC interconnection project, has been officially put into operation, transmitting about 3 billion kWh of clean electricity annually. In Cameroon, the Memve’ele Hydropower Station constructed by Chinese enterprises has not only lit up thousands of households but also trained a number of hydropower technical talents for the local area.

David Fishman, an international energy analyst, sighed that China is at the forefront of the global energy green transition, and the development of clean electricity will bring extensive benefits to all humanity. As green power surges and new momentum blooms, every kilowatt-hour of green electricity records China’s solid steps in energy transition and carries the common expectation of building a beautiful earth home.