China's Yunnan expands green energy capacity

KUNMING -- The total installed power capacity of Southwest China's Yunnan province had reached 106 million kilowatts by the end of 2021, with the installed green energy capacity exceeding 90 million kilowatts accounting for about 90 percent of the total, according to the provincial energy administration.

The figure was 2.5 times that of 2012. "Over the past decade, most mainstream hydropower stations have been put into operation in Yunnan," said Lu Wenxiang, director of the province's energy administration.

A total of 12 hydropower stations have been put into operation in the province successively and a number of technologies and indicators have achieved major breakthroughs. The installed capacity of hydropower in Yunnan has increased from 34.99 million kilowatts to 78.2 million kilowatts, ranking second in the country in terms of installed capacity. Yunnan is also home to seven of the top 10 hydropower stations in China.

The province has comprehensively accelerated the development and construction of new energy. Over the past decade, the total installed capacity of wind power and photovoltaic power generation in the province has increased from 1.53 million kilowatts to 12.78 million kilowatts, an increase of 7.35 times, and 50 million kilowatts will be added in the next three years.