China Built More Clean Energy Than Coal—But Can’t Use Half of It

For the first time in its history, China has more wind and solar power capacity than fossil fuel-based thermal power, the country’s energy regulatory said on Friday. The country’s renewable fleet hit 1,482 gigawatts at the end of March, crossing a symbolic threshold that makes for great headlines—but less great power reliability. Because here’s the catch: while renewables now account for more than half of China’s installed electricity capacity, they still delivered just 22.5% of actual power consumption in Q1. Grid…