China China’s Green Electricity Certificates issuance tops 4.7B in 2024; automakers, other manufacturers actively purchasing GECs

China’s Green Electricity Certificates issuance tops 4.7B in 2024; automakers, other manufacturers actively purchasing GECs

China had issued a total of 4.955 billion Green Electricity Certificates (GECs) as of the end of 2024, according to a report published by China’s National Energy Administration on its website Jan. 24, 2025. Of them, 4.734 billion were issued in 2024. GEC issuance has increased exponentially, with a record high 446 million GEC transactions made during 2024. The manufacturing sector is actively purchasing green electricity, with the telecommunications and manufacturing sectors, including the automotive industry, accounting for 70% of green electricity purchase.

 

Green Electricity Certificate

A Green Electricity Certificate (GEC) is an “identification” of green electricity generated with renewable energy. GECs are the only documentation for the production and consumption of renewable-energy electricity. A GEC represents 1,000 kWh of renewable-energy electricity.

 

GEC trading

GECs can be traded at the same time as green electricity or can be traded separately. As of December 2024, a total of 553 million GECs had been traded, of which 238 million were traded when green electricity was traded.

 

Numbers of GECs issued and traded

The table below shows the numbers of GECs issued and traded in China by energy type.

Energy GECs issued (10 thousand GECs) GECs traded (10 thousand GECs)
2024 Total through the end of 2024 2024 Total through the end of 2024
Wind power 194,071 205,939 23,882 29,146
Solar power 82,668 92,242 20,194 25,586
Conventional hydropower 157,757 157,757
Biomass 38,108 38,740 359 359
Other renewable energy 809 809 206 206
Total 473,413 495,488 44,640 55,296

 

 

The report of the National Energy Administration and the original data of GEC issuance and trading (both in Chinese) are available via the following links:

 

Author / Responsibility

LIU Yake

Researcher, Research & Consulting Dept. EnviX Ltd.

Business Performance

worked as a research assistant at Department of Environmental Planning and Management, School of Environment, Tsinghua University for 4 years, and then joint in Envix in April, 2022, currently is mainly responsible for consulting on EHS regulation compliance in East Asia.

Background

MA, Environmental Econimics, Hiroshima University

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