State Companies’ Rush to Clean Energy Sparks Bubble Fears

China’s rapid dash for wind and solar power mean it is six years ahead of its green target but concern grows that it is fueling an investment bubble

China’s largest state-owned companies have poured hundreds of billions of yuan into wind and solar power projects, putting the country on course to hit its clean energy target six years ahead of schedule. But the investment frenzy has also raised concerns over profitability and waste.

China has seen explosive growth in photovoltaic and wind power over the past three years as Beijing pushes to achieve a carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. To meet these goals, China in 2020 set a target to install 1.2 billion kilowatts of wind and solar power capacity by 2030.

The country has moved faster than planned. According to the National Energy Administration, China’s installed capacity of wind and solar power surpassed 1 billion kilowatts by the end of 2023.