China's Record Renewables Buildout Is Wasting Power as Grid Lags

The NEA Wants the Grid to Add Annual Expansions of Over 200GW of Renewable Power Through 2027

- Bloomberg

China's breakneck expansion of renewable power continues to set records—but an increasing amount of that wind and solar energy is being wasted because the grid isn't up to scratch.

In the first half, the curtailment rate for solar rose to 5.7%, from 3% in the same period last year, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA). For wind, it was 6.6%, versus 3.9% in the first six months of 2024.

Curtailments measure how much electricity was generated without finding its way to customers. That happens when supply overwhelms demand, or bottlenecks in the grid interfere with power transmission, particularly over distance. As a result, the worst offenders are the biggest renewables hubs in the sparsely populated interior, which rely on power lines stretching thousands of kilometers to the major cities of the east.

"The reason why curtailment has become an issue in China is simply because renewable power installation is too strong, far exceeding the growth rate of the power grid and energy storage," said Diana Xia, an analyst at Fitch Ratings Inc. "As a result, electricity generated by the additional capacity can't be consumed."