China sets 3.5 TW renewable power capacity goal for 2030

China’s National Energy Administration announced a target to raise total renewable electricity generation capacity to about 3.5 terawatts by 2030, delivering roughly 6,000 TWh of power annually. The plan calls for wind and solar installations to exceed 2.8 TW, representing more than half of the nation’s installed generation capacity, and includes the construction of over 370 GW of new large‑scale wind and solar projects in desert and arid regions such as Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia and Xinjiang. Distributed renewable capacity is slated to grow by more than 300 GW, while offshore wind is expected to add around 100 GW, bringing cumulative offshore capacity past the 100 GW mark.

A flagship component of the strategy is the “Great Solar Wall” in the Kubuqi Desert of Inner Mongolia, a massive solar corridor designed to generate electricity for millions of homes and to mitigate desertification by shading the soil and supporting vegetation growth. Power from these remote installations will be transmitted to major industrial and urban centres across China, reinforcing the country’s shift away from fossil fuels and its ambition to cut greenhouse‑gas emissions.