China's coal-fired power generation dips below 50% for first time

Coal-fired power accounted for less than 50 percent of China's total electricity generation in the first half of the year for the first time on record, signaling an accelerating transition toward green and low-carbon energy, official data showed on Thursday.

Coal power generated 2.5 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) during the January–June period, bringing its proportion of total generation down to 49.7 percent, according to the National Energy Administration.

Meanwhile, the nation's expansion of renewable energy continued at a rapid pace. By the end of June, the combined installed capacity of wind and solar power reached 1.95 billion kilowatts, up 16.8 percent year-on-year.

In terms of actual output, combined wind and solar power generation topped 1.2 trillion kWh in the first half of the year, accounting for roughly one-quarter of the country's total electricity consumption, it said.