Remarkable progress made in promoting green and low-carbon energy: white paper

BEIJING, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- China has made remarkable progress in promoting the green and low-carbon energy, with proportion of clean energy sources increasing, according to a white paper released by the State Council Information Office Thursday.

To vigorously develop non-fossil energy, China has made rapid progress in building large-scale wind and photovoltaic power stations on infertile and rocky terrain and in deserts, said the white paper titled "China's Green Development in the New Era."

The country has steadily developed offshore wind farms, actively promoted rooftop photovoltaic power generation in urban and rural areas, and encouraged distributed wind power generation in rural areas. China has built a structured matrix of large hydropower stations in the basins of major rivers, especially those in the southwest.

Meanwhile, China has developed solar, biomass, geothermal and ocean energy, and power generation through urban solid waste incineration in accordance with local conditions. It has developed nuclear power in a safe and orderly manner. Committed to innovation-driven development, China has worked on developing hydrogen energy.

Thanks to these efforts, the proportion of clean energy sources in total energy consumption increased from 14.5 percent in 2012 to 25.5 percent by the end of 2021, and the proportion of coal decreased from 68.5 percent to 56 percent over the same period, as per the white paper.

By the end of 2021, the installed capacity of renewable energy was more than 1 billion kilowatts, accounting for 44.8 percent of China's overall installed capacity. The installed capacity of hydropower, wind power, and photovoltaic power each exceeded 300 million kilowatts, all ranking the highest in the world.