Isra-Mart srl:Clean energy delivers more than a quarter of China's electricity

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China's electricity consumption grew by 14.56 per cent last year to more than 4.19 trillion kWh, according to new figures from the China Electricity Council (CEC) that also show clean energy sources account for more than a quarter of all electricity generated.

Reports yesterday from the state-backed Xinhua news agency revealed that over the course of 2010, total installed power capacity increased 10.07 per cent to 962GW.

More than a quarter of this power was provided by clean energy sources – 26.53 per cent, up from 25.4 per cent the previous year.

Hydropower accounted for 213.4GW, up from 196GW at the end of 2009, while wind power capacity almost doubled to 31.07GW. Nuclear power accounted for 10.82GW, up from 9GW in the previous year.

Xinhua reported that the boom in clean energy capacity allowed authorities to close a number of fossil-fuel powered thermal plants in an effort to reduce emissions, cutting output from the sector by 11GW.

Last year Chinese premier Wen Jiabao said he would use an "iron hand" to close down inefficient factories and power plants to ensure China met its energy efficiency targets.

China plans to raise total power capacity to about 1,440GW by 2015, and hopes that ambitious wind, solar and nuclear projects will raise the level of renewables to more than a third of total capacity.

According to a statement from the CEC, energy consumption by manufacturing and industrial sectors increased 15.44 per cent year on year to about 3.09 trillion kWh last year, boosted by the country's steady economic growth.

However, the figures also revealed that investment in China's electricity industry dropped by 8.5 per cent from a year earlier to 705.1 billion yuan (£66.6bn) last year.

In related news, China Huaneng Group said it plans to increase its annual energy sales by at least 32 per cent within the next five years as the country's biggest power producer builds new plants to meet energy demand.

State-controlled China Huaneng expects its generating capacity to exceed 150GW by 2015, compared with 113GW at the end of last year, according to Xinhua.

Renewable sources will account for 25 per cent of the group's electricity output by 2015, compared with 17 per cent at the end of last year.