Commissioning RES in China in the period from January to October 2023 reached 190 GW, which is higher than a similar indicator of the first tenth months of 2022 by 90.8%. As in the case with the ‘accrued statistics,’ solar power plants became the leader (142 GW), then followed wind generators (37.3 GW), hydroelectric power stations (8.4 GW) and biomass installations (2.3 GW). With this, the share of RES in the general structure of generating capacities being commissioned (including nuclear, coal-fired and gas-fired power plants) amounted to 76.4% based on the results of the first ten months of 2023.
Preliminary annual results once again demonstrate that China is one of the leaders in the development of renewable energy. A backup for developing RES in China is the availability of the own base of raw materials: according to the US Geological Survey, in 2022 China’s share in global silicon production constituted 68%, in silver production 14% and in copper production 9%, i.e. the materials used in solar power engineering. In 2022, China had the same high share in the global production of lithium (30%) and graphite (65%), which are used to make lithium-ion batteries. It is not incidental that in 2022 China’s share in the world investments into the construction of energy storage facilities amounted to 38% ($8 bn of $21 bn).
High dependence of RES equipment manufacturers on the supply of raw materials from China stimulates the search for alternatives to the traditional materials for renewable energy sources. For example, the Stora Enso company developed lignode, a hard carbon from lignin. i.e. a natural polymer contained in the outer layers of the cellulose fiber. Lignode can be used as an anode (negative electrode) of a lithium-ion battery.