China is adding solar and wind power at record rates, and the emergence of offshore wind is causing it to cut fossil fuel emissions along its industrial coastline. This is according to a report from ‘Global Energy Monitor’ (GEM). China is building 510 gigawatts (GW) of utility-scale solar and wind capacity, an increase of 57% over the previous year, and three-quarters of all such capacity under construction globally.

In total, China has 1.3 terawatts of utility-scale solar and wind capacity in development. This means China could generate more electricity than Japan consumed throughout 2023. Offshore wind is also on the up. Although it represents only a fraction of China’s total wind power capacity at 9%, it’s gaining traction as coastal provinces pursue ambitious decarbonisation targets.

In 2024, China added 4.4GW of offshore wind capacity, accounting for over half of all additions globally that year. As of February 2025, China had 67GW of offshore wind projects in the development pipeline, of which 28GW is under construction. This compares favourably with the global average outside China at just 2% under construction.

Guangdong province’s 11.4GW offshore wind fleet has the potential to avoid roughly 23m tonnes of CO₂ each year if fully operational. This is equivalent to burning 8.7m tonnes of coal.

But Guangdong is not the only coastal province with offshore wind being developed in parallel with its fossil fuel industry. While offshore wind’s capacity to deliver stable electricity makes it particularly well-suited for decarbonising China’s heavy industries – such as steel and petrochemical industries – coal and gas are still on the rise across China.