BEIJING, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Wind and solar photovoltaic power in China are likely to achieve grid price parity within 2020, further diminishing the share of hydropower in the total power output by renewables in China, China Daily reported Tuesday.
Currently, among all the major renewables, which include biomass and geothermal energies, development of wind and solar energies reported the most remarkable progress. About 85 percent of newly installed renewable capacity in 2018 was for wind and solar energy, according to the paper.
Renewable in China will continue to see rapid growth, and in 2020, the installed conventional hydropower connected to the grid will be 340 gigawatts (GW) , while that for wind power and solar will be 230 GW and 250 GW, according to the China Renewable Energy Development Report 2018, released by the CREEI last week.
Zheng Sheng'an, president of China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute, estimated the growth of wind and solar power will continue throughout 2025, driven by the country's commitment to reducing carbon emissions.
"Due to technological improvements and enhanced operation, cost of wind and solar power is continuously dropping," Zheng cited the example of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, where the capacity of 20 wind power projects approved through a competitive process totaled 1.93 million KW, with average power price dropping by 7.9 percent.
He added that the layout of solar power is also optimizing, as growth in solar power capacity is of similar pace in the central, eastern and southern parts of China. The development of renewable is essential for china to establish a clean, low-carbon and safe energy mix, and to reduce foreign energy reliance.
