From October 2025 to September 2026, fossil fuels supplied about 56% of electricity consumed in the People’s Republic of China, while low-carbon sources supplied about 44%. Coal alone accounted for 53%, making it the largest source, with gas providing another 3%. Among clean electricity sources, hydropower contributed about 14%, solar 12%, wind 11%, nuclear nearly 5%, and biofuels about 2%. Solar generation was split almost evenly between utility-scale installations and systems behind the meter. China therefore has a substantial clean electricity sector, although fossil fuels still supply more than half of its electricity, contributing to climate change and air pollution.

Is Electricity Growing in People's Republic of China?

Electricity consumption is growing and reaching new highs. The latest 2026 figure is about 7,600 kWh per person, exceeding the previous record of about 7,400 kWh in 2025 by 200 kWh, or nearly 3%. Low-carbon electricity generation also set a record, rising to about 3,300 kWh per person from roughly 3,100 kWh in 2025—an increase of 179 kWh, or nearly 6%. This is encouraging: clean generation per person increased almost as much as total consumption per person, supporting expanding electricity use as electrification and AI increase demand.

Suggestions

China can build on its already substantial wind and solar generation by expanding both technologies, alongside a major expansion of nuclear electricity. Relevant examples include industrial economies such as South Korea, where nuclear supplies 26% of electricity, and France, where it supplies 67%, demonstrating the substantial contribution nuclear can make to a low-carbon electricity system. For wind, Germany’s 29% share and the US state of Texas’s 22% offer useful examples from large industrial electricity systems. For solar, China can draw lessons from the US state of California, where solar provides 30% of electricity, and Spain, where it provides 23%. Adapting these regions’ experience to Chinese conditions, while expanding transmission and storage, could help accelerate clean electricity growth and reduce reliance on coal.

History

China’s low-carbon electricity history shows successive waves of substantial growth. Hydropower led many of the earlier gains, with annual increases of about 70 TWh in 2004 and 100 TWh in 2008, followed by increases of roughly 107–173 TWh in 2010, 2012, and 2014, and about 63–66 TWh in 2015 and 2016. Wind then gathered momentum, adding around 58–71 TWh in the listed years from 2017 to 2020 before surging by 188 TWh in 2021. From 2022 through 2025, wind added roughly 106–138 TWh each year. Solar also accelerated sharply, with annual gains 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, alongside another 115 TWh gain from wind. Together, these advances demonstrate the scale of China’s clean electricity expansion and provide a strong foundation for further growth.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

* 12M = Last 12 months (Oct 2025 – Sep 2026) — a rolling 12-month period, not a calendar year.