China tops world in PV energy capacity in 2016

Technicians check solar panels at a textile company in Jimo, Shandong province. [Photo/China daily]

BEIJING - China has the largest capacity for photovoltaic (PV) energy in the world, official data showed Saturday.

China's installed PV capacity was 77.42 million kilowatts at the end of 2016, thanks to 34.54 million kilowatts of capacity added over the year, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said in a statement.

China's PV capacity and its increase in 2016 were the biggest in the world, according to the NEA.

China's solar plants generated 66.2 billion kilowatt hours of power last year, accounting for one percent of the country's total power generation, the NEA said.

Over the next five-year period (2016-2020), China will continue to expand its PV capabilities and phase out outdated capacity, according to the NEA solar power development plan for the period.

China will add over 110 million kilowatts of solar power by 2020, according to the plan, and reduce the price of PV power by at least 50 percent compared with 2015.

The country is aiming to increase the proportion of non-fossil fuel generated power to 20 percent by 2030 from the present 11 percent.