China Lifts Renewables Above 40% as Peak Power Load Hits 1.553 TW

3 articles · Updated · english.dotdotnews.com · Aug 2

China’s first-half renewable generation topped 40% of total output while coal’s share fell to 49.7%, the first time half-year coal generation has dropped below 50%.
A July heatwave and fast-growing AI computing pushed national peak load to a record 1.553 billion kW—about 45 million kW above last year—with officials warning demand could reach 1.6 TW if extreme heat persists.
Supply has held steady as China added about 400 million kW of generation capacity since June, expanded long-distance transmission to 46 UHV corridors, and kept centrally dispatched coal plants stocked with more than 30 days of fuel.
Renewables added 117 million kW in the first half, or 73.9% of new capacity, bringing their share of installed capacity above 60% and reinforcing wind and solar as core power sources rather than supplementary ones.
The shift is tying energy planning more closely to AI and data-center growth, while boosting the case for storage, virtual power plants, power trading and carbon-asset management.