Country's green drive hits major milestone

China achieved a major milestone in renewable energy development with installations of wind and solar power generating units surpassing 1.2 billion kilowatts, six years ahead of schedule, said the National Energy Administration on Thursday.

As of end-September, installed capacity of renewable energy power generating units reached 1.73 billion kW, a year-on-year increase of 25 percent, accounting for approximately 54.7 percent of the total installed capacity in China. This includes hydropower installations of 430 million kW, wind power installations of 480 million kW, solar power installations of 770 million kW, and biomass power installations of 46 million kW.

Meanwhile, electricity generated from renewable energy sources has been steadily increasing. In the first three quarters, power generated from renewable energy sources reached 2.51 trillion kilowatt-hours, a 20.9 percent year-on-year increase, representing about 35.5 percent of total electricity. Combined electricity generated from wind and solar power reached 1.349 trillion kWh, a 26.3 percent increase year-on-year, nearly matching the electricity consumption of the tertiary sector (1.3953 trillion kWh) during the same period and surpassing electricity consumption for urban and rural residents (1.1721 trillion kWh).