China's Renewable Energy Capacity Overtakes Thermal Power

China's renewable energy capacity has surpassed thermal power for the first time, constituting more than half of the country's installed power generation capacity, official data showed.

The installed power generation capacity of renewable energy, which includes wind power, solar power, hydropower and biomass energy, totaled 1.45 billion kilowatts so far this year, according to the National Energy Administration.

The country's total power generation capacity reached around 2.9 billion kilowatts, up 12.9 percent from a year earlier.

Amid the country's efforts to accelerate the development of wind power and solar power, the combined power generation capacity of the two has topped one billion kilowatts, maintaining a major share in the country's newly installed power generation capacity, according to the administration.

According to the data, renewable energy currently provides about one-third of the country's total power consumption, with wind power and solar power combined accounting for more than 15 percent of the total power use.