REM: China emerges as global green energy champion with two-thirds of the world's new wind and solar power plants

Almost two-thirds of the world's large wind and solar power plants are in China while a surge in renewable capacity has driven coal's share of power generation to new lows, Reuters reports.

China has 339 GW of wind and solar capacity under construction, or 64% of the global total, according to a report by the US think tank Global Energy Monitor (GEM). That’s more than eight times the second-place US’s 40 GW of capacity.

The report’s authors say China’s pace of growth makes the global target of tripling renewable energy capacity by the end of 2030 “well within reach” even without increasing hydropower.

GEM analyst Aiqun Yu said absorbing the renewable energy boom remains a challenge for China’s coal-heavy grid, and that transmission line construction needs to accelerate.