87.4 gigawatts of PV added in China

According to the National Energy Administration (NEA), new photovoltaic systems with 87.4 gigawatts (GW) of capacity were installed in China in 2022. This is once again by far the largest addition worldwide – in absolute terms, but not in relation to the number of inhabitants, where China, with just under 62 watts per capita, added significantly less than Germany, for example, with an expected 89 watts per capita.
According to the NEA, the current Chinese PV additions represent a 60.3 percent increase over the previous year. 54.5 GW would thus have been added in 2021. Apparently, the statistics were still corrected during the year; in January 2022, the NEA had reported 53 GW of additions for 2021. The country's cumulative PV capacity is now 392.6 GW (about 280 watts per capita; Germany: 790 watts).
Wind power additions in China declined 21 percent year-on-year to 37.6 GW, with total cumulative capacity now at 365.4 GW. However, the year-on-year increase in cumulative capacity was well above average for wind power (up 11.2 percent) and even more so for PV (up 28.1 percent): according to NEA statistics, China's total power generation capacity rose by 7.8 percent to 2,564 GW.
© PHOTON