An image of 350 MW Golmud solar power demonstration project Photo: China General Nuclear Power Group

China's total installed electricity generation capacity reached 4.04 billion kilowatts by the end of June, 2026, increasing 10.8 percent year-on-year, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said Wednesday, adding China tops the world in power generation now.

Of this total, solar power generation capacity accounted for 1.27 billion kilowatts, up by 15.8 percent year-on-year, while wind power generation capacity reached 680 million kilowatts, up 18.5 percent year-on-year.

During the January-June period, the cumulative average utilization of power generation equipment nationwide was 1,392 hours, a decrease of 113 hours compared to the same period last year.

Nuclear power generation capacity in the first half of the year reached 66.14 million kilowatts, rising 8.6 percent year-on-year.

The strong growth in new energy generation will continue to contribute the drive of China's green transition, analysts noted.

Electricity consumption saw an uptick recently with households consuming more electricity during the summer heat, and as the country's many digital industrial lines continued to gain momentum. China's peak electricity load climbed to a record high of 1.551 billion kilowatts on July 14.

However, Lin Boqiang, chair professor and dean of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy of the School of Management at Xiamen University, said that even as summertime power demand fluctuates, China's electricity generators have enough leeway to cope with any peaks in the coming months as shown by the utilization hours of power generation equipment in China.

Global Times