China-Europe Wind Solar and Energy Storage Project

(Xinhua/Ren Pengfei) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz toured a China-Germany hydrogen technology cooperation project in Chongqing, southwest China, during his official visit to China in April. This underscores the extensive partnership between China and Germany in green energy, offering a glimpse into their broad collaboration.

Pedro Amaral Jorge, president of the Portuguese Renewable Energy Association, highlighted the growing cooperation between China and Portugal in the solar energy sector, as Portugal aims to install approximately 8 gigawatts (GW) of solar power by 2026 or 2027 and reach 22 GW by 2030.

Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe, an association for the European solar PV sector, has warned that Europe must ramp up its solar deployment to meet the necessary targets, while WindEurope, a major wind energy association, also stressed the need for immediate action.

A herd of sheep take a rest under solar panels at the Francisco Pizarro photovoltaic power plant in Caceres, Spain, on March 24, 2023. (Xinhua/Meng Dingbo) As exemplified by the Spanish PV plant, China's rapid progress in the renewable energy sector has played a pivotal role in advancing the European Union's (EU) green transition.

To date, more than 20 provinces have issued such mandates and some provincial governments have upped their mandatory ratios for energy storage projects to 20%, up from 10% a couple of years ago. These requirements have helped mitigate renewables curtailment in China.

China's green energy equipment manufacturing industry is well-established and competitive. Chinese solar products and wind turbines would be indispensible for EU to achieve its 2030 emission reduction targets, said Qin Yan, a lead analyst at Refinitiv and researcher at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.