China to further shrink renewables subsidies in market reform push
by AFP Staff Writers
Shanghai (AFP) Feb 9, 2025
China’s top economic planner said on Sunday it would reduce some renewable energy subsidies in reforms intended to open the booming sector to market forces.
China has sought to scale back government support for renewable energy companies in recent years as the sector reaches critical mass.
It installed a record amount of renewable energy last year and has already surpassed a target to have at least 1,200 gigawatts of solar and wind capacity installed by 2030.
New clean energy projects completed after June 1 must sell electricity at rates determined by the market rather than at preferential rates previously used to support China’s energy transition, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement.
The NDRC urged energy producers to “push forward clean energy’s participation in market transactions”.
The commission also said it “encourages electricity providers and electricity buyers to sign multi-year purchase agreements and pre-emptively manage market risks”.
Beijing invested more than $50 billion in new solar supply capacity from 2011 to 2022, according to the International Energy Agency.
It has built almost twice as much wind and solar capacity as every other country combined, according to research published last year.
However, China’s grid is struggling to keep up.
Renewable supply is increasingly being blocked to prevent the grid from becoming overwhelmed, a process known as curtailment.
Beijing has rolled out a series of measures over the past decade aimed at weaning renewable energy providers off state financial support.
It ended subsidies for new solar power stations and onshore wind power projects in 2021.
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