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

China is advancing a 1.3 TW pipeline of utility-scale solar and wind projects, with operating capacity reaching 1.4 TW by 2025. The country has become a global leader in offshore wind, growing its capacity to 42.7 GW by March 2025. While offshore wind is being used to decarbonize coastal industries and produce green hydrogen, the sector faces challenges from the 2021 phaseout of national subsidies and competition from ongoing coal and gas developments. The report suggests adopting hybrid auction mechanisms and centralized marine spatial planning to ensure sustainable growth.

• China has a prospective pipeline of over 1.3 TW of utility-scale solar and wind capacity, with 510 GW already under construction. This is added to an existing operating capacity of 1.4 TW, which represents 44% of the world's operating utility-scale solar and wind capacity.
• In the first quarter of 2025, China's wind and solar capacity exceeded its thermal (coal and gas) capacity for the first time, providing nearly 23% of the total electricity consumed, compared to 18% in Q1 2024.
• China's offshore wind capacity grew 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.
• Offshore wind development in China is concentrated in coastal provinces, with Jiangsu (12.6 GW) and Guangdong (11.4 GW) accounting for 55% of the national total. Guangdong is the fastest-growing market and is deploying floating structures and larger turbines (10–18 MW) to handle deep waters and typhoons.
• Despite the growth of offshore wind, fossil fuel expansion continues in coastal regions; for example, Guangdong province plans to commission 13.5 GW of gas and 23 GW of coal capacity by 2027.
• The offshore wind sector experienced a slowdown after the 2021 phaseout of national feed-in tariffs (FiTs), which had supported an Internal Rate of Return of approximately 10%. This led to a drop in installations from 16.6 GW in 2021 to about 6.5 GW in 2022.
• China is integrating offshore wind into industrial decarbonization through green hydrogen pilots in Fujian, Guangdong, and Shandong, and direct electrification, such as powering BASF’s Zhanjiang Verbund chemical complex.

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} }