Shaping a clean and green future
China's renewable energy five-year plan charts a new chapter for high-quality development at home and abroad
As China enters its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period, the nation's renewable energy landscape is undergoing a crucial transformation. Rather than simply chasing green energy installation speed, China's renewable energy five-year plan, issued by the National Energy Administration and the National Development and Reform Commission, focuses on quality development, system-wide reliability and decarbonization across both power and non-power sectors. This shift marks an important evolution in China's renewable energy ambitions, offering vital lessons for emerging economies and the wider international community.
A critical milestone underpinning this new plan is that China surpassed its previous 2030 target of 1,200 gigawatts of wind and solar capacity well ahead of schedule by September 2024. Building on this momentum, China aims for over 2,800 GW of wind and solar capacity by 2030. These new targets seem anchored in a realistic assessment of grid integration capabilities, economic shifts and technological readiness.
An important feature of this plan is its focus on energy regeneration and replenishment through dependable, firm renewables rather than expanding generation capacity. In the past, rapid capacity additions often outpaced grid flexibility. The new plan addresses this by prioritizing high-quality development through firming renewables. It mandates that newly built centralized wind and solar stations achieve a dependable capacity of no less than 10 percent, with high-performing projects encouraged to exceed 20 percent by 2030.
To achieve this level of system firmness, the plan stipulates massive expansion of energy storage assets over the next several years. As China balances hydropower development with ecological protection, flood control, water supply, irrigation and navigation, the country's conventional hydropower installed capacity is expected to reach about 410 million kilowatts by 2030.
By 2030, China is targeting 15 million kW of installed solar thermal power capacity, 400,000 kW of marine energy capacity and approximately 160 million kW of pumped storage power capacity, according to the National Energy Administration.
Combined with significant expansion of battery storage, advanced grid-forming inverters and source-side energy storage integration, these measures support the orderly substitution of fossil fuels in the country.
Renewable energy also plays a significant role in heavy industry upgrading, which requires retrofitting in hard-to-abate sectors such as steel and cement, alongside the physical relocation of energy-intensive industries to green-energy-rich regions.
At the community level, microgrids and rural development take center stage. Through initiatives such as the village-level micro-energy network pilots, China is pioneering decentralized off-grid and micro-grid solutions. These localized models offer invaluable lessons and practical blueprints for emerging economies across the Global South and Belt and Road countries seeking reliable, clean energy access in areas without grid connection.
China has already become the global technology leader in green energy, and to enable more innovations in renewable energy, China can strengthen deep research collaboration among Chinese institutions — bridging universities and industry leaders — to drive breakthroughs in next-generation climate prediction, advanced materials and artificial intelligence-empowered grid dispatch.
With China's green energy successes drawing significant global attention, China's leadership demonstrates that domestic success can be paired with open international cooperation. By sharing its high-quality, cost-effective green technologies with other countries, especially some Global South countries, China is helping other nations accelerate their own low-carbon transition. Through both large-scale projects and livelihood-oriented "small yet beautiful" initiatives, China contributes to global green supply chains and standard harmonization.
On a broader global outlook, the accelerated integration of renewable energy opens unprecedented avenues for nations across the world to harness cost-effective green energy to improve industrial competitiveness while relatively lowering energy-related emissions. At the same time, some developed and developing countries increasingly want to benefit from integrating into global green energy value chains. Realizing this potential requires recognizing that trust-based collaboration and knowledge sharing are more important than ever. In this context, it is remarkable to observe China's rapid transition from an absorber to a prominent contributor of technological knowledge, now well-positioned to take the lead in upgrading green industries.
In conclusion, China's renewable energy five-year plan is much more than an energy road map. Rather it highlights China's transformation from a historical energy importer into a dominant global energy power and producer. By harnessing vast domestic resources — particularly through the mega wind and solar bases in the Three-North area and the Gobi regions — China is endeavoring to secure its own energy independence while helping the global energy transition. Crucially, the country is charting a new chapter in renewable energy deployment at scale, proving that high levels of variable renewable penetration can be managed safely and efficiently in the world's largest energy system. For the international community, the plan offers a clear message: China's energy transition has entered a new phase where innovation, quality, security and systemic integration pave the path to a global energy transformation.
The author is a professor at the University of Queensland in Brisbane and a visiting professor at the Fudan International School of Finance at Fudan University.
The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.
