China Plans to Increase Wind, Solar Generation by 50% in Five Years

China plans to increase wind and solar power generation by 53% over the next five years, under a renewable energy plan released on Thursday that for the first time makes its green power target binding.

The plan is aimed at increasing overall renewable generation to 1.8 billion tons of coal equivalent (tce) by 2030 from 1.18 billion tce in 2025, and at making renewables more reliable sources of power during spikes in demand. Here are other key points:

• By 2030, wind and solar, backed up by storage, should be able to supply 8% of their installed capacity during periods of peak demand, and cover 20% of electricity use during demand spikes.

• By 2030, China also wants to add over 300 gigawatts (GW) of renewable peaking capacity, or renewables that can be dispatched when demand spikes.

• The plan targets 150 million tce of wind and solar use outside the power sector. That includes renewables-powered heating and cooling, as well as the production of green hydrogen, which Beijing has said will reach 2 million metric tons per year by 2030.

• The plan