China added 23% more wind and 33% more solar capacity year over year, but a new Carbon Brief analysis shows that curtailment wasted roughly 170 TWh of clean power in the first quarter of 2026. That lost output is larger than the 120 TWh increase in total electricity demand over the same period. The result: power sector CO2 emissions rose 4% year over year, breaking a 21 month streak of flat or falling emissions. The core problem is not a lack of renewables but a grid that cannot absorb them. Existing contracts guarantee a minimum output from coal plants, and rigid interprovincial trading rules prevent surplus clean power from reaching regions that need it. Until China reforms its power dispatch system and invests in transmission and storage, adding more solar and wind capacity will not deliver the emissions cuts it should.
