China's power capacity to hit 1.23b kW by year's end

BEIJING -- China's installed power capacity will top 1.23 billion kilowatts by the end of 2013, a report from the China Electricity Council said on Thursday.

Thermal power will still account for the bulk of the capacity, topping 860 million kW, followed by 280 million kW from hydropower, 14.78 million kW from nuclear power, 75 million kW from on-grid wind power and 6 million kW from on-grid solar power.

The country will add 87 million kilowatts of installed power capacity in 2013, including 40 million kW of thermal power capacity.

Demand for electricity will grow, as China's economy will continue to stabilize in 2013, the report forecast.

China's electricity use last year grew 5.5 percent from 2011 to 4.96 trillion kilowatt hours, according to the National Energy Administration in January.

The growth rate was markedly lower than the 11.7-percent increase registered in 2011, echoing a slowdown in the country's economy last year.