In the first six months of the year, China was forced to give up clean energy volumes sufficient for Mexico for an entire year, as the country's power grids reached their capacity limits. This is reported by Reuters.
According to data published this month from the Global Energy Monitor (GEM) and the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), from January to June, China limited or did not use 360 TWh of clean energy, which is 49% more than in the same period last year.
Reuters emphasizes that the estimates of production constraints presented in the report significantly exceed the figures published by the Chinese government.
The National Energy Administration of China reported last month that in the first half of 2026, the use of 8.6% of the solar energy produced and 9.1% of wind energy was restricted. However, taking into account the impact of weather conditions and making appropriate adjustments, GEM and CREA estimate that in the first six months, China had to limit 26.1% of total solar and wind energy production.
Analysts say that insufficient electricity transmission infrastructure, as well as supply contracts ensuring the operation of recently built coal power plants in China, force the country to give up significant volumes of available renewable energy.
“The production limitation in China is structural, not temporary. We expect that pressure for production limitations will remain until the end of this decade,” said Yuan Zhen, an analyst at consulting firm Wood Mackenzie.
According to Reuters, production restrictions, as well as a new policy that cancels the guaranteed fixed price for renewable energy, have contributed to a 66% decrease in the installation of new solar power capacities in China this year.
At the same time, it is expected that this year, electricity production at China's coal power plants will increase again, interrupting the first decline recorded in the last decade.
