China uses technological innovations to power clean energy transition

China has made several breakthroughs in renewable energy generation in recent years. By 2025, renewable energy installations accounted for more than half of the country's total installed capacity, driven by the use of innovative technologies. This has provided strong momentum for both China and the world in their clean energy transition.

Last October, the world's largest 26-megawatt offshore wind turbine, independently developed by China's Dongfang Electric Corporation, was successfully connected to the grid in waters off east China's Shandong Province, setting new global records for both single-unit capacity and rotor diameter.

According to the company, under full-load conditions, each rotation of the turbine generates 62 kilowatt-hours of electricity. At an average wind speed of 10 meters per second, a single unit can produce 100 million kilowatt-hours annually – enough to power 55,000 households – while saving 30,000 tonnes of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 80,000 tonnes.

In east China's Shanghai, a commercial underwater data center powered by offshore wind farms began operation in February, aligning surging computing demand with renewable energy supply.

Offshore wind turbines located above the data center are designed to supply electricity directly, enabling on-site consumption and avoiding energy losses typically associated with long-distance transmission.

At full-load operation of 24 megawatts, the project's annual carbon reduction is equivalent to the annual carbon absorption of about 1.6 million trees.

Similar clean energy-powered data centers are also being developed in northwest and southwest China.

China is accelerating the construction of renewable energy infrastructure to support its fast-growing digital economy while effectively reducing carbon emissions.

In September last year, China pledged to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions across its economy by 7 to 10 percent from peak levels by 2035. To achieve this goal, China's installed capacity of renewable energy has already surpassed that of coal-fired power.

As China rapidly expands its clean energy infrastructure, it is also sharing the spillover benefits of its technological innovation with the rest of the world.

At the Solar and Storage Live Africa 2026 exhibition held in Johannesburg in March, Chinese companies' photovoltaic equipment and smart energy solutions drew widespread attention.

Qhakazile Mathebula, general manager for digital energy at City Power Johannesburg, welcomed the strong presence of Chinese firms and highlighted their contribution to Africa's energy transition.

"We welcome the participation of Chinese renewable energy companies, whose investments and technologies are helping accelerate Africa's shift toward cleaner and more sustainable energy," she said.

China's ability to deliver cost-effective and scalable solutions is critical as African countries are working to expand energy access and address supply constraints, Mathebula added.

"At the scale and pace that China is producing them (clean energy), plenty of things stand to be swept away – including, quite possibly, the once seemingly intractable problems of energy poverty and fossil-fuel dependence," wrote Jeremy Wallace, a professor of China Studies at Johns Hopkins, in a recent column for Wired magazine.