National Average Wind Power Utilization Rate Reaches 96.9%! Evaluation and Analysis of National New Energy Power Consumption in the Fourth Quarter of 2021

In 2021, China’s newly installed wind and photovoltaic power capacity reached 101 million kilowatts, with 47.57 million kilowatts added in wind power and 54.88 million kilowatts in photovoltaic power, thereby achieving the year-end target for guaranteed capacity. By the end of 2021, cumulative installed capacities had reached 328 million kilowatts for wind power and 306 million kilowatts for photovoltaic power. In the fourth quarter, new installations totaled 31.21 million kilowatts for wind power and 27.82 million kilowatts for photovoltaic power; however, due to factors such as the phase-out of subsidies, the concentration of newly grid-connected capacity declined during this period.

In 2021, the share of wind and photovoltaic power generation in total national electricity consumption exceeded 10% for the first time, reaching 11.7%. Throughout the year, cumulative wind and photovoltaic power generation nationwide totaled 978.5 billion kilowatt-hours, a year-on-year increase of 35.0%.

In 2021, the cumulative installed capacity of offshore wind power reached 26.38 million kilowatts, propelling China to the top spot worldwide; distributed photovoltaic (PV) systems accounted for 55% of the year’s new PV installations, surpassing 50% for the first time in history. In the fourth quarter, newly installed offshore wind capacity nationwide totaled 13.2 million kilowatts, up 600.9% year on year, while newly installed distributed PV capacity reached 12.978 million kilowatts, an increase of 83.8% over the same period last year. The spatial distribution of wind and PV development continued to improve: in the fourth quarter, new wind capacity in the central, eastern, and southern regions accounted for 61.0% of the national total, a year-on-year rise of 22.9 percentage points.

Consumption and Utilization Assessment for This Quarter

Throughout the year, wind and solar power utilization rates reached 100% in 11 provinces and cities nationwide. The national average wind power utilization rate was 96.9%, up 0.4 percentage points year on year; the photovoltaic power utilization rate was 98.2%, up 1.0 percentage point year on year. In the fourth quarter, the national wind power utilization rate was 96.9%, an increase of 0.9 percentage points year on year; the photovoltaic power utilization rate was 97.8%, up 0.8 percentage points year on year. In the fourth quarter, the amount of curtailed wind power nationwide was 5.9 billion kWh, and the amount of curtailed photovoltaic power was 1.75 billion kWh; for the full year, the total amount of curtailed wind power was 20.61 billion kWh, and the total amount of curtailed photovoltaic power was 6.78 billion kWh.

In 2021, China’s total electricity consumption reached 8.3 trillion kilowatt-hours, a year-on-year increase of 10.3%. The rapid growth in overall electricity demand has created favorable conditions for the integration of new energy sources.

Significant progress has been made in major projects to promote the consumption of clean energy: the Fengning Pumped Storage Hydropower Station, with a installed capacity of 3.6 million kilowatts and the largest in the world, has begun generating power; and the world’s largest cluster of distributed dynamic reactive power compensators for new energy has been officially commissioned in the Hainan Prefecture of Qinghai Province.

In 2021, the utilization rates of new energy in Hunan, Xinjiang, and Gansu increased by 3.5, 2.7, and 1.9 percentage points, respectively, while those in Qinghai and Western Mongolia decreased by 5.7 and 1.5 percentage points, respectively. In the fourth quarter, new energy utilization improved markedly in Shaanxi, Shandong, Xinjiang, and Shanxi, whereas utilization rates declined in Western Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Henan, and Liaoning.

Assessment of Power Consumption in the First Quarter and for the Full Year

Driven by the carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals and the rural revitalization strategy, it is expected that the scale of newly grid-connected photovoltaic and wind power capacity will continue to grow at a moderate pace in the first quarter.

In the first quarter, wind conditions across the country exhibited relatively pronounced variations: average wind speed increased month by month, and the average annual total solar irradiance at the surface showed an upward trend in most regions.

Large-scale wind and solar power base projects, with a focus on desert, gobi, and arid regions, will be progressively connected to the grid and commissioned in 2022, leading to greater concentration of new-energy projects and increased integration challenges in parts of western and northern China.

Key transmission projects have been commissioned one after another, further enhancing the transmission capacity of existing corridors and improving inter-provincial and inter-regional power allocation capabilities.

National strategies such as “East Data, West Computing” have spurred rapid growth in total electricity consumption across the western region, significantly enhancing the local capacity to absorb new energy power.

Flexibility upgrades for coal-fired power plants are steadily advancing, and energy storage will play an increasingly important role in ensuring the integration of new energy sources.

1. Development and Operation Status for This Quarter

1.1 The growth rate of wind power installed capacity has accelerated, with cumulative offshore wind power capacity now ranking first in the world.

In the fourth quarter, new wind power capacity added nationwide totaled 31.21 million kilowatts; for the full year, new wind power capacity reached 47.57 million kilowatts. Affected by the high base in the same period last year and the phasing out of onshore wind power subsidies, new wind power capacity in the fourth quarter declined by 44.8% year on year. The provinces and regions with the largest additions included Jiangsu at 5.02 million kilowatts, Guangdong at 4.69 million kilowatts, and Henan at 3.22 million kilowatts. As of the end of December, the nation’s cumulative grid-connected wind power capacity stood at 328 million kilowatts, up 17.3% year on year. In the fourth quarter, 13.20 million kilowatts of offshore wind power were newly connected to the grid, a year-on-year increase of 600.9%. By the end of December, the nation’s cumulative grid-connected offshore wind power capacity had reached 26.39 million kilowatts, up 193.6% year on year. Offshore wind power now accounts for 8% of total wind power capacity, an increase of 4.8 percentage points compared with the same period last year.

Cumulative wind power installed capacity (in 10,000 kW) and its share of the region’s total installed capacity as of the end of 2021

1.2 Wind power development continues to shift toward the central, eastern, and southern regions, where grid integration conditions are more favorable.

In the fourth quarter, the central-eastern and southern regions added 19.04 million kilowatts of grid-connected wind power capacity, a year-on-year increase of 222.5%; this accounted for 61% of the nation’s total new wind power capacity, up 22.9 percentage points from the same period last year. As of the end of December, the cumulative installed wind power capacity in the central-eastern and southern regions reached 120 million kilowatts, representing 36.5% of the national total—up 3.9 percentage points year on year.

New (left) and Cumulative (right) Grid-Connected Wind Power Capacity by Region in the Fourth Quarter (in 10,000 kW)

1.3 Significant Increase in New PV Capacity Added in the Fourth Quarter. In the fourth quarter, newly grid-connected PV capacity nationwide reached 27.82 million kilowatts, up 157.8% from the previous quarter; for the full year, new PV capacity totaled 54.88 million kilowatts. However, due to the high base in the same period last year and the short-term rise in PV raw-material costs, new capacity added declined by 7.6% year on year. Provinces with particularly large additions included Shandong at 4.75 million kilowatts, Hebei at 3.63 million kilowatts, and Anhui at 1.96 million kilowatts. As of the end of December, total grid-connected PV capacity nationwide stood at 306 million kilowatts, representing a year-on-year increase of 20.9%.

Cumulative installed capacity of photovoltaic power generation (in 10,000 kW) and its share of the region’s total installed capacity as of the end of 2021

1.4 The share of newly installed distributed PV capacity has exceeded 50% for the first time.

In the fourth quarter, China added 12.98 million kilowatts of distributed photovoltaic capacity, an year-on-year increase of 83.8%. In 2021, newly installed distributed PV accounted for 55% of all new PV capacity, surpassing 50% for the first time in history. Driven by the nationwide initiative to develop distributed PV on a county-wide scale and by subsidies for residential PV systems, the cumulative installed capacity of new residential PV projects reached 21.6 million kilowatts for the year, up about 113.8% from the same period last year. By the end of 2021, the total installed capacity of residential PV had reached 41.6 million kilowatts, while the nation’s total installed distributed PV capacity stood at 107.51 million kilowatts.

New (left) and cumulative (right) grid-connected photovoltaic power generation capacity by region in the fourth quarter (in 10,000 kW)

1.5 The share of wind and photovoltaic power generation exceeded 10% for the first time.

In the fourth quarter, nationwide wind power generation reached 183.18 billion kilowatt-hours, up 60.4% year on year; solar photovoltaic power generation totaled 76.46 billion kilowatt-hours, an increase of 27.6% year on year. For the full year, cumulative wind and solar PV generation amounted to 978.5 billion kilowatt-hours, up 35% year on year, accounting for 11.7% of total power generation—a 2-percentage-point rise from the previous year. Driven by the concentrated grid connection of wind and solar PV projects at the end of 2020, wind and solar power generation surged in 2021, leading to a marked increase in their share of total power generation.