China hits 2020 solar target three years early

China has surpassed its target to install 105 GW of solar power capacity by 2020 – three years ahead of schedule – with figures indicating solar capacity in the country now sits above 112 GW.

The figures, from Asia Europe Clean Energy Advisory and reported by Euractiv, indicate that solar capacity in China increased by over 24 GW in the first half of this year. Official forecasts indicate that 2017 could see a total of 45 GW of new PV installed in China this year. This compares to Germany’s total installed solar capacity of 41 GW.

Greenpeace’s Energydesk reported that China’s National Energy Administration has already responded to the news by setting more ambitious annual installation targets that would take capacity to 213 GW in 2020 – which it points out is five times larger than the current PV capacity of the US.

A recent report from Greentech Media forecasts that global total solar PV capacity will reach 390 GW by the end of the year, around the same capacity as the world’s installed nuclear fleet (though it will be producing less electricity, as solar cannot run 24 hours a day). The Global Solar Demand Monitor rep at global solar capacity will reach 871 GW by 2022.