• China installed 26 gigawatts of offshore wind in a single year.
• It reached the world record for this type of energy source within just a few years.
• Despite this, it remains the world's largest coal consumer.

China announced that it built more offshore wind installations in 2021 alone than the rest of the world in the previous 5 years. Before 2021, the record for offshore wind installations was held by the United Kingdom, but in the past year alone China built 26 gigawatts of installed capacity and now accounts, at a global level, for half of the total capacity produced (we are talking about 54 gigawatts) from this type of renewable source.

At the same time, however, China remains the world's largest coal producer (in 2019 it produced over 22,000 terawatts of energy by burning coal, compared to the United States, in second place, with 3.9) and does not intend to abandon it in the short term, as it demonstrated during the last Cop26 in 2021.

How did China become a leader?

China's first offshore project dates back to 2008. From then until 2016, China accelerated its efforts in the renewable energy sector, pushing in particular on wind and photovoltaics. With regard to offshore wind installations, in 2019 China was third in the world for installed capacity, behind the United Kingdom and Germany.

It has been installing offshore wind further and further out to sea

After having occupied almost all the suitable spaces within 10 kilometres of the coast, new installations are being placed further offshore. This situation has led to the deployment of innovative submarine cables capable of transporting electricity over greater distances.

Simon Evans @DrSimEvans

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Wow – China just built more offshore wind capacity, in 2021 alone, than the rest of the world had managed in the last 5yrs put together

Its 26GW now accounts for half of the world's 54GW total

Also, it added twice as much in 2021 as IEA had forecast in…December 2021

♥ 4621💬 147 25 gen 2022 · Apri su X →

But there is still much to be done

Yet last year China emitted 5.5 per cent more emissions than in 2019, and 84 per cent of its energy is still met by fossil fuels. Looking more deeply into the data, however, it can be noted that during the third four-month period of 2021, China produced fewer emissions (0.5 per cent) compared to the same period of the previous year.

For experts, this demonstrates how renewable sources can help the Chinese government contain the rise in emissions compared to previous years without undermining economic development. The real challenge, therefore, becomes moving from the phase of containment to that of reduction of CO2. And on this front, China still has a long road ahead.