China tops world in wind power, hydropower capacity

BEIJING -- China's installed capacities for wind power and hydropower have grown to the world's largest, said Liu Zhenya,president of the China Electricity Council (CEC), on Sunday.

Liu said at a power industry summit that China's installed wind power capacity expanded rapidly in the past decade, recording a yearly growth of more than 60 percent. Its cumulative total, now 118 times more than that of 10 years ago, secured the country's position as the world's top wind energy provider, Liu said.

Liu also said that China, now the world's leader in both wind power and hydropower capacity, witnessed soaring growth in other clean energy sectors in the same period. Its solar photovoltaic power capacity surged by more than 50 percent each year.

Liu, also general manager of the country's largest grid operator, said China will continue to optimize its energy structure by tapping new energy sources, in a bid to secure future energy supply.

CEC also advised at the summit that China should construct a strong and smart power grid to back up the development of clean energy in the country, as well as building a market mechanism to help new energy sectors boom.