China set a world record, again, in 2015 by adding more installed capacity of both wind and solar in a single year than any other country (32.5 GW of wind and 18.3 GW of solar). By the fourth quarter of 2015, China overtook Germany with the largest installed capacity of solar power in the world (with a total of 43 GW). Though China’s increasingly ambitious policies have ushered in rapid gains in renewable energy, Rebecca Coombs examines the country’s continued over-reliance on coal, which suggests a long road ahead towards a true clean energy transition. Renewable Energy in China: From Zero to Top of the Charts Over the past two decades, China’s renewable energy sector has grown from being virtually nonexistent to establishing itself as a leader in total renewable energy investment and capacity. China’s central government has driven much of this change since it first began promoting renewable energy in the early 1990s. The Chinese central government’s five-year plans (FYP), a policy blueprint for China’s development, provide a key illustration for the country’s increasingly … Continue reading China’s energy transition: rapid growth on a long road