China uses more renewable energy in first nine months

BEIJING - China's renewable energy generation rose 11 percent year-on-year by the end of September to 1.44 trillion kilowatt-hours, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA) Tuesday.

Of the total, hydropower topped 893.8 billion kWh in the first nine months of the year, up 7.9 percent, while wind power stood at 291.4 billion kWh, up 8.9 percent year-on-year, said Li Chuangjun, deputy director of the new energy and renewable energy sources bureau of the NEA, at a press conference.

Meanwhile, solar photovoltaic power hit 171.5 billion kWh, up 28.1 percent, while biomass generated 80.4 billion kWh of electricity, up 19.4 percent from a year ago, Li said.

The country wasted less renewable energy during the period amid a rising utilization rate, according to Li.

The utilization rate of hydropower came in at 95.9 percent in the first three quarters, up 3.3 percentage points, while average curtailment rates of wind power and photovoltaic power dropped by 3.5 percentage points and 1 percentage point, respectively.

"China advanced the green and low-carbon transformation of energy in the first three quarters," said Song Wen, deputy director of the development and planning office of the NEA.

By the end of September, non-fossil energy accounted for 37.2 percent of the country's installed 6,000-kilowatt and above generating units, up 0.8 percentage points compared with the same period last year, Song added.