Although China remains the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, the country continues to hedge its bets in the energy industry. China’s commitment to renewable energy cannot be denied due to the recent news of how the country spurred the growth in the world’s windfarm capacity.
In 2020, China created more windfarm capacity than the rest of the world had in the previous year. The result: a new record for annual windfarm installations. Last year, global developers built nearly 100 gigawatts (GW) worth of windfarms, representing the world’s largest increase in wind power capacity and a 60% increase from the previous year. China led the way.
Wind is the future, but country still reliant on coal
The Bloomberg New Energy Finance report disclosed that in 2020, more than half of the additional wind power capacity was built by China. The country’s windfarms grew by nearly 58GW last year.
Energy developers in the country caused a near market stampede due to the possibility that the Chinese government may eliminate new wind power subsidies. Such a development points to the possibility of Chinese companies looking for foreign company partners for further investments, so the opportunity for U.S. companies may be there.
Even so, China continues to heavily rely on coal for energy. A previous report released by Global Energy Monitor noted that China constructed nearly two-thirds of the world’s coal power plants. In addition, roughly 90% of the world’s coal generators currently under construction are being built in China.
The energy industry is just one of many industries in China seeking foreign partnerships. The opportunity is there.