CHINA added 9.9 gigawatts (GW) of new grid-connected solar power capacity in the first three quarters of 2015, bringing its total to 37.95GW, up 35 percent from the beginning of the year, data from the country’s energy bureau showed.

    The National Energy Administration (NEA) said late Tuesday that of the new capacity, 8.32GW came in the form of solar power stations, with the remainder consisting of “distributed” solar installations.

    China initially planned to increase total solar generation capacity by 17.8GW over the whole of 2015, but the NEA this month announced it would raise the target by another 5.3GW.

    China also said this week that it was encouraging big solar and wind producing regions like Gansu and Inner Mongolia to take action to give renewable power generators greater and more reliable access to the grid.

    China’s total installed power capacity stood at 1,385.3 gigawatts by the end of September, up 9.4 percent on the year, with 68.4 percent consisting of thermal plants, according to NEA data published this week.

    (SD-Agencies)