China’s electricity consumption exceeded 1 trillion kilowatt-hours for two consecutive months for the first time ever this summer, setting new global records. The China Electricity Council attributed the surge primarily to increased residential cooling demand, with household electricity consumption accounting for more than 40% of the total growth in electricity usage across the two-month span, but the growing number of data centers must surely be playing a role.
China is meeting the demand with record levels of renewables, with generation accounting for roughly 40% of total electricity production, also highlighting the size of China’s energy demand, as this would just fall shy of the US’ total energy demand. There is clearly a need for an increase in global renewable power generation, and what is also clear is that China is leading the pack in renewable power sources, set to be a key player in the global green energy transition.