In the city of Datong in north China’s Shanxi Province, a coal mining subsidence area once scarred by mining activities is now adorned with a vast array of glinting solar panels.
The photovoltaic base covering an area of nearly 50,000 mu (about 3,333 hectares) has generated over 12 billion kilowatt-hours of green energy since 2016.
“This photovoltaic base has epitomized the country’s energy transition. Over eight years of operation, it has validated the reliability of photovoltaic products,” said Yin Xulong, chairman of Yingli Solar Co., Ltd., a supplier of solar panels.
At the recently held Taiyuan Energy Low Carbon Development Forum in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi, Francesco La Camera, director-general of the International Renewable Energy Agency, highlighted in a video speech China’s significant contributions to global renewable energy expansion. In 2023, China contributed 63 percent of the world’s new renewable energy installed capacity.
As of the end of July this year, the installed capacity of renewable energy reached 1.68 billion kilowatts, making up over 54 percent of the country’s total installed power capacity.
In Shanxi, the proportion of installed capacity from new and clean energy rose from 33.9 percent in 2019 to 47.2 percent in the first half of 2024, while the share of electricity generated from these sources increased from 18.1 percent to 28.2 percent during the same period.
