China's solar and onshore wind capacity reaches new heights while offshore wind shows

China is rapidly expanding its renewable energy capacity, with a 1.3 TW pipeline of utility-scale solar and wind projects and an operating capacity of 1.4 TW that surpassed thermal power in Q1 2025. While China leads globally in offshore wind capacity and technology, including floating platforms and high-capacity turbines, the sector faces challenges from the 2021 phaseout of national subsidies and competition from ongoing fossil fuel development in coastal provinces.

• China is developing a utility-scale solar and wind pipeline exceeding 1.3 TW, with 510 GW already under construction. This is in addition to 1.4 TW of operating capacity, which represents 44% of the world's operating utility-scale solar and wind capacity—a figure greater than the combined totals of India, the United States, and the European Union.
• In the first quarter of 2025, China's wind and solar capacity exceeded its thermal (gas and coal) capacity for the first time. These sources provided nearly 23% of the country's total electricity consumption, an increase from approximately 18% in Q1 2024.
• China has become a global leader in offshore wind, with capacity growing from under 5 GW in 2018 to 42.7 GW by March 2025, accounting for 50% of global capacity. In 2024, China's additions of 4.4 GW represented nearly 55% of all global offshore wind additions for that year.
• Offshore wind development is concentrated in coastal provinces, with Jiangsu (12.6 GW) and Guangdong (11.4 GW) providing 55% of China's total offshore capacity. However, this growth competes with planned fossil fuel capacity; for example, Guangdong plans to commission 23 GW of coal and 13.5 GW of gas power by 2027.
• China is advancing high-capacity and floating wind technologies. Goldwind commercialized a 16 MW unit in June 2024, and Dongfang Electric unveiled a 26 MW design. As of Q1 2025, nearly 40 MW of floating wind is operational across five pilot projects, with the first phase of the 1,000 MW Hainan Wanning floating offshore wind farm expected by the end of 2025.
• The offshore wind sector experienced a significant slowdown after the phaseout of national feed-in tariffs (FiTs) at the end of 2021, which had previously supported an Internal Rate of Return of about 10%. Annual installations dropped from a record 16.6 GW in 2021 to approximately 6.5 GW in 2022.
• China is utilizing offshore wind for industrial decarbonization, including green hydrogen pilots in Shandong, Guangdong, and Fujian. Specific projects include a 500 MW farm delivering 100% renewable power to BASF’s Zhanjiang Verbund chemical complex and a commercial underwater data center in Shanghai Lingang sourcing over 90% of its energy from sea-based turbines.

APA

Smith, Y. H. M. Z. J. (2025). China's solar and onshore wind capacity reaches new heights while offshore wind shows. Global Energy Monitor. https://globalenergymonitor.org/research/chinas-solar-and-onshore-wind-capacity-reaches-new-heights-while-offshore-wind-shows

Chicago

Smith, Yujia Han, Mengqi Zhang, Janna. China's solar and onshore wind capacity reaches new heights while offshore wind shows. Global Energy Monitor, 2025. https://globalenergymonitor.org/research/chinas-solar-and-onshore-wind-capacity-reaches-new-heights-while-offshore-wind-shows.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Smith |first1=Yujia Han, Mengqi Zhang, Janna |title=China's solar and onshore wind capacity reaches new heights while offshore wind shows |publisher=Global Energy Monitor |date=29 July 2025 |url=https://globalenergymonitor.org/research/chinas-solar-and-onshore-wind-capacity-reaches-new-heights-while-offshore-wind-shows |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{smith2025chinas, author = {Smith, Yujia Han, Mengqi Zhang, Janna}, title = {{China's solar and onshore wind capacity reaches new heights while offshore wind shows}}, institution = {Global Energy Monitor}, year = {2025}, month = jul, url = {https://globalenergymonitor.org/research/chinas-solar-and-onshore-wind-capacity-reaches-new-heights-while-offshore-wind-shows}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }