Electricity generation in China
Annual electricity production, fuel mix and historical observations for China, with links to its grid operators, electricity market and power stations.
Reference year: 2024. Published snapshot, not live output. Energy is reported in terawatt-hours (TWh).
How much electricity does China produce?
China reported 10,086.9 TWh of domestic electricity generation in 2024. Among the reported source categories, coal produced the most electricity: 5,827.6 TWh.
Source: Ember (2026), processed by Our World in Data · CC BY 4.0 · Snapshot 24 April 2026. Method & download details.
Electricity mix 2024
Annual generation by source · terawatt-hours (TWh)
Missing categories are labelled “No data”. Rounding can cause small differences from the reported total.
Renewable share uses domestic generation as its denominator. Low-carbon generation includes renewables and nuclear; nuclear is not renewable. Missing fuel categories remain “No data”, and rounded source values need not sum exactly to the reported total.
Generation is not consumption or installed capacity
The source separately reports electricity demand of 10,069.9 TWh for 2024. Domestic generation is not electricity consumed after trade and losses. The demand series is a separate source measure, not a calculated import balance. Power-plant ratings in megawatts (MW) measure capacity; annual production in TWh measures energy.
Searching for “energy production in China”? This profile answers the electricity part of that question. Transport fuels, heat and total primary-energy production are outside this dataset.
Annual electricity generation in China
Every row retains its own reporting year. 2024 remains the common-year comparison even where a newer observation exists. Missing observations are not interpolated.
| Year | Generation (TWh) | Renewable (%) | Low-carbon (%) | Demand (TWh) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 10,583.4 | 37 | 41.7 | 10,563.9 |
| 2024 | 10,086.9 | 33.7 | 38.2 | 10,069.9 |
| 2023 | 9,456.5 | 30.6 | 35.2 | 9,439.4 |
| 2022 | 8,848.7 | 30.2 | 34.9 | 8,835.8 |
| 2021 | 8,534.3 | 28.7 | 33.5 | 8,520 |
| 2020 | 7,779.1 | 28.1 | 32.8 | 7,762 |
| 2019 | 7,503.4 | 26.9 | 31.5 | 7,486.6 |
| 2018 | 7,166.1 | 25.6 | 29.7 | 7,150.9 |
| 2017 | 6,604.4 | 25.2 | 29 | 6,591.4 |
| 2016 | 6,133.2 | 24.8 | 28.3 | 6,120.4 |
| 2015 | 5,814.6 | 24 | 26.9 | 5,802.1 |
| 2014 | 5,794.5 | 22.3 | 24.6 | 5,783 |
| 2013 | 5,431.6 | 20.1 | 22.2 | 5,420.4 |
| 2012 | 4,987.5 | 20 | 22 | 4,976.8 |
| 2011 | 4,713 | 16.8 | 18.7 | 4,700.3 |
| 2010 | 4,207.2 | 18.7 | 20.5 | 4,193.7 |
| 2009 | 3,714.6 | 17.9 | 19.8 | 3,703.3 |
| 2008 | 3,495.8 | 19 | 21 | 3,483 |
| 2007 | 3,281.5 | 15.3 | 17.2 | 3,271.2 |
| 2006 | 2,865.7 | 15.6 | 17.5 | 2,858.8 |
| 2005 | 2,500.3 | 16.2 | 18.3 | 2,494.1 |
| 2004 | 2,203.3 | 16.2 | 18.5 | 2,197.2 |
| 2003 | 1,910.6 | 15 | 17.3 | 1,903.2 |
| 2002 | 1,654 | 17.6 | 19.1 | 1,645.6 |
| 2001 | 1,480.8 | 19 | 20.1 | 1,472.2 |
| 2000 | 1,355.6 | 16.6 | 17.9 | 1,346.9 |
Interactive China trends and country rankings
Source: Ember (2026), processed by Our World in Data · CC BY 4.0 · Snapshot 24 April 2026. Method & download details.
China: rapid renewable expansion within a coal-heavy electricity system
Reporting scope: 2024 national generation and renewable additions.
New capacity and existing generation answer different questions
The IEA describes China as 2024's largest electricity system, with almost 60% coal generation and about 35% renewables. China also supplied almost two-thirds of newly connected global renewable capacity. New additions and generation from the existing fleet are different measures.
Source: IEA: Global Energy Review 2025, China in 2024 (CC BY 4.0).
Solar ratings need a measurement basis
The IEA uses DC ratings for Chinese solar additions and includes utility-scale and distributed installations. An atlas sum may use AC ratings or omit distributed systems. Read the solar ratings guide before comparing these totals.
Understand the data
By Power Stations Worldwide · Context sources checked · Review scope. This date does not update the underlying plant inventory or electricity series.
Compare China with its region
These are geographic country groupings, not one connected electrical grid. Country totals are not divided across continents for transcontinental countries.
- Asia electricity generation and country comparisons
- Eastern Asia electricity generation and country comparisons