25 years ago China had no solar panels whatsoever, and some experts thought it would take decades before the costs of solar generation would be the same as electricity from the grid. Now the country is leading the global renewable transition.
Recently, thanks to a combination of technological advances and government support, solar power even became cheaper than grid electricity in cities across the nation, according to new research. On top of that, almost a quarter of the 344 cities in the study could also have solar systems that would generate lower-cost electricity than coal.
As the price of clean energy technology plummets and China’s electricity demand rapidly rises, investing in renewables has never been more appealing. However, despite the apparent progress, the International Energy Agency has warned that much more investment in renewables across the world is required to prevent more than 1.5C of average global warming as set out under the terms of the Paris climate agreement.
