China’s National Energy Administration guidelines for 2023 targets 160GW of new solar and wind capacity

By Carrie Xiao
April 13, 2023
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
China already accounts for nearly a third of the world’s solar and wind generation. Image: Unsplash

The Chinese government has announced some good news for the PV and wind industries with a target of 160GW of new solar and wind capacity to be added in 2023.

The National Energy Administration’s (NEA) official website issued a Guideline On Energy Work In 2023, which specifies that the target for 2023 is “to increase the use of non-fossil energy to 18.3% of total energy consumption and increase the proportion of non-fossil installed power generation capacity to 51.9%. Wind power and photovoltaic power generation will account for 15.3% of total power consumption.”

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

This means that in 2023, non-fossil energy will account for more than 50% of China’s power generation capacity for the first time. According to data released by the China Electricity Council on January 19, non-fossil energy accounted for 49.6% of China’s total installed power capacity in 2022.

In addition, the Guideline proposed to “Actively develop wind and solar power projects, promote the connection and operation of the first batch of large-scale wind power and photovoltaic stations in desert areas, and start to build the second and third batch of projects.”

It also proposed plans to “steadily build offshore wind power stations and plan on the construction of offshore PV projects, vigorously promote the construction of distributed onshore wind power projects and distributed PV projects” and “increase the installed capacity of wind power and photovoltaic power by 160 GW over the year.”

Read Next

January 6, 2026
Potentia Energy has raised AU$830 million in portfolio financing to support its renewable energy operations and development across Australia.
January 6, 2026
Leading Chinese module manufacturer Trinasolar has announced two new agreements with ACWA Power for projects in Saudi Arabia.
January 6, 2026
The Colombian National Environmental Licensing Authority (ANLA) has granted environmental approval to a 200MW solar PV project in the Chiriguaná area of Northern Colombia.
January 6, 2026
The Chinese government has released a range of policy measures to strengthen intellectual property (IP) protections in the country’s solar PV industry.
January 5, 2026
Israeli renewable energy developer Nofar Energy will acquire an almost 1GW US utility-scale solar portfolio from bankrupt IPP Pine Gate Renewables.
January 2, 2026
Canadian Solar has appointed Colin Parkin to its presidency to replace Dr Shawn Qu, who will remain as the company’s chairman and CEO.

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK
Solar Media Events
March 24, 2026
Dallas, Texas
Solar Media Events
April 15, 2026
Milan, Italy
Solar Media Events
June 16, 2026
Napa, USA
Solar Media Events
November 24, 2026
Warsaw, Poland