According to a report in China Daily on February 10, 2026
China’s investment in key energy projects surged to a record 3.5 trillion yuan ($505 billion) in 2025, marking an 11% year-on-year increase and outpacing other sectors of the economy. The increase reflects China’s dual objectives of expanding renewable capacity while reinforcing domestic energy security.
According to the National Energy Administration (NEA), energy investment growth was 12.9 percentage points higher than national infrastructure and 10.1 percentage points above manufacturing, highlighting the sector’s role as a key engine for industrial upgrading and economic stability.
Emerging energy sectors saw particularly strong growth. Investment in energy storage and hydrogen energy doubled compared to 2024, as China seeks to address the intermittency challenges of its rapidly growing renewable fleet. Cumulative renewable capacity now exceeds 1.8 billion kilowatts, with renewable generation totaling approximately 4 trillion kilowatt-hours — more than the combined electricity demand of the 27 EU member states.
Onshore wind projects led the expansion, with investment rising nearly 50% year-on-year, while energy storage capacity grew 84%, reaching 136 million kW by the end of 2025 — a 40-fold increase since 2020.
Private capital is playing an increasingly important role. Investment by private firms rose 12.9%, surpassing the industry average, particularly in solar, wind, and coal sectors. This trend supports China’s distributed energy model, with solar panels and smaller-scale wind farms located closer to demand centers, said Lin Boqiang, head of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University.
Despite the rapid shift toward renewables, traditional energy sources remain crucial. Investment in coal-fired and hydropower plants continued to ensure a stable national grid. Large-scale hydropower projects in southwest river basins and upgrades to China’s ultra-high voltage (UHV) transmission lines are enabling clean electricity to flow efficiently from remote western regions to industrial hubs in the east.
The NEA highlighted five regions as primary drivers of investment: Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Shandong, Guangdong, and Jiangsu, each exceeding 200 billion yuan annually.
Looking ahead, the NEA expects momentum to continue in 2026, particularly as AI integration with energy management and smart grids attracts further capital. Analysts say the 2025 milestone signals a fundamental shift: China is now retooling its entire economic infrastructure around a low-carbon, high-security energy model.
“China’s energy sector is no longer transitioning at the margins — it is reshaping the backbone of the national economy,” said Xing Yiteng, deputy director of the NEA’s development planning department.