From July 2025 through June 2026, fossil fuels supplied about 57% of electricity consumed in the People’s Republic of China, while low-carbon sources provided about 43%. Coal dominated the electricity mix at roughly 54%, with gas contributing another 3%. Among clean sources, hydropower supplied 14%, solar almost 12%, and wind about 11%. Solar generation was split almost equally between utility-scale installations and systems behind the meter, each providing about 6% of electricity. Nuclear supplied a further 4.5%, while biofuels accounted for about 2%. China therefore has a substantial clean electricity base, but fossil fuels still supply more than half its electricity, contributing to climate change and air pollution.
Is Electricity Growing in People's Republic of China?
Electricity consumption is growing and setting new records. The latest 2026 figure reached about 7,574 kWh per person, up 173 kWh—or roughly 2.3%—from the previous record of 7,401 kWh in 2025. Low-carbon electricity generation also reached a record, rising to about 3,252 kWh per person from 3,137 kWh in 2025, an increase of 115 kWh, or nearly 4%. This is encouraging: clean electricity generation per person is growing faster than overall electricity consumption per person. Sustaining and accelerating that progress will help meet expanding electricity demand from electrification, industry and AI.
Suggestions
China can build on its already substantial wind and solar generation by expanding both technologies, alongside a larger nuclear programme. South Korea offers a relevant regional example for nuclear electricity, obtaining about a quarter of its electricity from nuclear, while France demonstrates that nuclear can supply around two-thirds. For wind, Germany’s share of about 31% and the US state of Texas’s 22% provide useful examples from major industrial economies. For solar, the US states of California and Nevada generate about 31% and 35% of their electricity from sunlight, respectively. These regions illustrate opportunities rather than identical blueprints: China can adapt their experience in clean electricity deployment while expanding transmission, storage and grid flexibility to support much larger volumes of wind, solar and nuclear electricity.
* 12M = Last 12 months (Jul 2025 – Jun 2026) — a rolling 12-month period, not a calendar year.
History
China’s low-carbon electricity history shows successive waves of substantial growth. Hydropower led the gains in the 2000s and early-to-mid 2010s, with annual increases of about 70 TWh in 2004, 100 TWh in 2008 and 107 TWh in 2010, followed by an especially large 173 TWh increase in 2012 and 144 TWh in 2014. Further gains of around 63–66 TWh followed in 2015 and 2016. Wind became increasingly prominent in the late 2010s, adding about 58 TWh in 2017 and 71 TWh in 2018. Expansion accelerated in the early 2020s: wind added 188 TWh in 2021, followed by annual gains exceeding 100 TWh in every listed year from 2022 through 2025. Solar also surged, with additions rising from 66 TWh in 2021 to 99 TWh in 2022 and 155 TWh in 2023. Hydropower’s disappointing 71 TWh decline in 2023 was followed by a strong 206 TWh increase in 2024, underscoring the scale of China’s continuing clean electricity expansion.
* 12M = Last 12 months (Jul 2025 – Jun 2026) — a rolling 12-month period, not a calendar year.
Electricity Imports and Exports
Balance of Trade
* 12M = Last 12 months (Jul 2025 – Jun 2026) — a rolling 12-month period, not a calendar year.
Nearby Regions
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