Going green: China continues massive investment in renewable energy

Chinese state-owned power company, China Three Gorges Corporation, has announced it has started developing more than two dozen of new green energy projects, requiring the total investment of $8.2 billion.

The construction of 25 new projects with a total installed capacity of 3.92 million kilowatts was started simultaneously in 14 provinces and regions, the Beijing-based company announced on Monday. The initiatives are expected to create 17,000 jobs for locals and help the nation's industrial chain to resume work and production, as well as optimize the local industrial structure.

As the corporation wants to become the leader in the offshore wind power, most of the funds (around $6 billion) will be spent on the two largest projects on the list — the offshore wind power facilities in the city of Yangjiang, Guangdong province and Rudong County, Jiangsu province. After installation of 414 large wind turbines, they are set to reach full capacity by the end of 2021 to provide around 7.2 billion kilowatts of energy annually.

China has been boosting its green energy industry, investing in various projects. Last week, the country's photovoltaic industry association said that the nation's solar industry may expand between 35 and 45 gigawatts in 2020, possibly growing by 50 percent compared to last year.

The development of the new multi-billion-dollar projects started despite the coronavirus outbreak that has been ripping through various sectors of the Chinese economy. The virus infected more than 80,000 people worldwide and killed more than 2,700 as of Tuesday morning, amid growing fears that it may grow into a global pandemic, as the number of cases outside China spiked over the weekend.

China Three Gorges Corporation is also responsible for the construction of the world's largest hydropower project, the Three Gorges Dam, on the Yangtze River. The project was formally completed in 2012, reaching total generation capacity of 22.5 gigawatts.

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