Solar and wind lead China's power expansion

China's installed power generation capacity had reached 3.96 billion kilowatts by the end of March, up 15.5 percent year-on-year, with solar and wind leading the growth, official data showed Thursday.

Solar power capacity hit 1.24 billion kW, a 31.3 percent increase from the same period last year, while wind power installed capacity reached 660 million kW, up 22.4 percent year-on-year, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA).

China has been stepping up efforts to develop clean energy, with solar and wind power becoming major drivers of installed capacity growth.