China has officially released its 15th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development, setting a target of raising renewable energy consumption to around 1.8 billion tonnes of standard coal equivalent (tce) by 2030. The plan marks a shift in policy focus from simply expanding installed capacity to enhancing both the scale of renewable energy deployment and its ability to provide reliable power.
Wind and Solar Capacity to Continue Rapid Growth
According to the plan, by 2030 China's total installed renewable power capacity will reach around 3.5 billion kW, including more than 2.8 billion kW of wind and solar power, accounting for over 50% of the country's total installed power capacity. Annual wind and solar generation is expected to exceed 4 trillion kWh, representing 30% of total electricity generation. Meanwhile, renewable energy consumption will increase to 1.8 billion tce, up significantly from 1.18 billion tce in 2025.
Greater Emphasis on Reliable Renewable Power
Compared with previous plans, the most notable change is the inclusion of reliable renewable power supply as a key development objective, rather than focusing solely on installed capacity.
The plan targets an average capacity credit of 8% for wind and solar power (including co-located energy storage) by 2030, comprising around 11% for wind power and 6% for solar PV. During evening peak demand periods in both summer and winter, wind and solar are expected to account for more than 20% of electricity generation, roughly 10 percentage points higher than current levels. In addition, more than 300 GW of reliable peak generation capacity from renewable energy will be added during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.
At the same time, newly built utility-scale wind and solar projects will generally be required to achieve a capacity credit of at least 10%, with projects capable of exceeding 20% encouraged.
These targets indicate that renewable energy will not only continue to increase its share of annual electricity generation but will also play a significantly larger role in ensuring power supply during peak summer and winter demand periods, reducing the need for coal-fired generation to provide peak-load support.
Non-Power Applications Enter a New Growth Phase
Beyond the power sector, the plan identifies non-power applications as a new growth driver for renewable energy.
By 2030, renewable energy use outside the power sector is expected to increase by 150% from 2025 levels, reaching approximately 150 million tce. Renewable hydrogen production is targeted to rise from 250,000 tonnes in 2025 to 2 million tonnes by 2030.
The plan calls for the development of green hydrogen, ammonia and methanol production bases, while promoting renewable-powered hydrogen production, green methanol and green ammonia industries. It also proposes accelerating the construction of storage, transportation and port bunkering infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the plan seeks to expand the use of green electricity in industry, encouraging sectors such as steel, cement, chemicals and paper to adopt renewable-powered heating, direct green power supply and low-carbon fuel substitution. It also promotes renewable energy substitution in coal and oil & gas extraction operations, while supporting the deployment of new energy heavy-duty trucks, green marine fuels and sustainable aviation fuels in the transportation sector.
Stronger Renewable Energy Consumption Requirements
Another notable feature of the plan is the introduction of a comprehensive minimum renewable energy consumption target system.
The mandatory renewable electricity consumption requirement will gradually be extended to more industries. At the same time, China will establish statistical, monitoring and assessment systems for renewable energy use outside the power sector, incorporating renewable energy consumption targets into industry-wide carbon management and corporate carbon accounting.
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