hina has unveiled an ambitious plan for renewable energy and green tech development for the next five years, aimed at tackling carbon emissions while continuing to grow the economy.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration (NEA) released the 15th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development on July 23, outlining a green energy blueprint from 2026 to 2030.
The plan sets systematic, quantifiable development targets covering total energy consumption, power generation, non-electric utilization and reliable grid substitution. By 2030, China's total renewable energy consumption is expected to hit about 1.8 billion tons of standard coal. Total installed capacity of renewable energy power will reach around 3.5 billion kilowatts, with an annual power output hitting 6 trillion kilowatt-hours. Installed capacity of wind and solar power is planned to surpass 2.8 billion kilowatts, which will account for more than 50 percent of national power capacity. Their combined annual power generation is set to exceed 4 trillion kilowatt-hours accounting for 30 percent of the country's total.
The plan highlights innovative reliable substitution mechanisms to address the intermittency of wind and solar resources. By 2030, wind and solar power installations equipped with energy storage should deliver average firm capacity equivalent to 8 percent of installed capacity at peak electricity demand periods. During summer and winter night peaks, wind and solar power is expected to contribute over 20 percent of grid supply. Over the 2026- 2030 period, China will add more than 300 gigawatts of reliable renewable peak-generation capacity.
The plan proposes to expand nonelectric applications for renewable energy. By 2030, the scale of non-power renewable energy utilization is expected to grow 1.5 times compared with 2025 levels, with renewable hydrogen production reaching 2 million tons annually.
To realize those targets, China will continue to construct large-scale wind and solar bases in desert and Gobi regions, planning to increase installed wind and solar capacity in northwestern, northeastern and northern regions by at least 370 million kilowatts. Offshore wind will be boosted in coastal areas, with cumulative installed capacity increasing by 100 million kilowatts by 2030. The country will also encourage other green energy, improve new energy storage systems, optimize grid connection mechanisms, and coordinate resource development, grid transmission and market consumption.
Two months before the new plan was issued, the NDRC and NEA published a document on implementing compulsory consumption of renewable energy which will take effect as of August 1. An NEA official told media that the compulsory consumption target will encourage key industries to use more renewable energy, advance the green energy market and optimize the distribution of green energy resources across the country.
According to the NEA's latest data, by the end of June 2026, China's total installed capacity of renewable energy reached 2.455 billion kilowatts, accounting for 60.7 percent of the country's total power capacity. In the first half of 2026, newly added renewable energy capacity stood at 117 million kilowatts, accounting for 73.9 percent of all newly built power installations. In the same period, China's renewable energy generated nearly 2 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity, 9 percent growth year-on- year, accounting for 41.2 percent of total electricity generation.
On July 30, the NEA published its China New-type Energy Storage Development Report, which said that during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), the new-type energy storage industry has shifted from the preliminary commercial application stage to a new phase of scaled-up development, with installed capacity soaring from 3 million kilowatts to 136 million kilowatts.
Experts said the new plan upgrades China's renewable energy strategy from large-scale expansion to high-quality growth which prioritizes stability, efficiency and system integration over sheer capacity growth. It will also consolidate China's leading role in the global renewable energy industry and drive global green and low-carbon cooperation.
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