China built more offshore wind capacity in 2021 than whole world in last five years
The UK was previously led the world in its offshore capacity – but China has just built more than double that in a single year.
China installed 26 gigawatts worth of offshore wind in 2021, according to China’s National Energy Administration, state-broadcaster CCTV reported.
It now accounts for around half of the world’s total capacity, analysis by Carbon Brief has revealed, and is more than what the entire world has produced over the past five years.
The country, the planet’s largest carbon emitter, added double the capacity the International Energy Agency forecast in December.
The UK has around 10 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity under its belt.
China had been reluctant to dial back its coal use at the UN’s flagship climate conference COP26 back in November.
However, the country in December made amendments to its decarbonisation policy, which has since paved the way for higher renewable demand and support.
Newly installed renewable energy projects and industrial raw materials producers are now exempt from the energy volume and intensity caps, China’s cabinet State Council confirmed last month.