China a leader in global energy transition, says expert

China is a leader in the global energy transition, according to Raul Alfaro-Pelico, director of the Knowledge, Policy, and Finance Centre at the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

He made the remarks during an interview with Xinhua at the World Energy Storage Conference 2024, which took place from Wednesday to Friday in Ningde City, east China's Fujian Province.

Alfaro-Pelico said that China's substantial investments, coupled with a far-reaching policy strategy that supports renewable energy deployment and manufacturing, have made it a leader in the energy transition.

Renewable energy has become cost-competitive compared with fossil fuels. Alfaro-Pelico said China has been key in driving down global costs through the large-scale deployment of photovoltaic projects, as well as onshore and offshore wind projects.

"China sets a model for a fully integrated energy transition, from generation and storage to grid management and consumption," said Alfaro-Pelico, acknowledging China's commitment to the dual carbon goals of peaking carbon emissions by 2030 and attaining carbon neutrality by 2060.

According to the National Energy Administration, by the end of September, China's installed renewable energy capacity surged 25 percent year on year to 1.73 billion kilowatts, accounting for 54.7 percent of China's total installed power generation capacity.

Alfaro-Pelico said that because renewable energy is linked to sustainable development goals, ordinary people can also be "empowered," noting that the renewable energy sector is associated with job creation.

According to a report released by IRENA and the International Labour Organization, in 2023, global renewable energy jobs increased 18 percent year on year to 16.2 million, and China led with 7.4 million jobs, making up 46 percent of the total.

At the conference, the IRENA also issued the report "Key Enablers for the Energy Transition: Solar and Storage."

Alfaro-Pelico explained that the report proposes four key policy recommendation pillars, including adopting national energy storage targets, enhancing grid flexibility and stability via energy storage, developing solar and storage through favorable financing and insurance policies, and supporting the development of certification and standards.

The report was facilitated by IRENA's Coalition for Action, which brings together over 150 leading renewable energy players including private sector companies, industry associations, civil society, research institutes and intergovernmental organizations.

The coalition is also comprised of leading Chinese companies and organizations including Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), Huawei, JinkoSolar and the Chinese Photovoltaic Industry Association, among others.

Alfaro-Pelico said he expects IRENA to work with more Chinese companies to promote a collaborative global approach to advancing the energy transition.

The World Energy Storage Conference 2024 was organized by the government of Ningde, Industry and Information Technology Department of Fujian and the Equipment Industry Development Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.