China Q1 2026 Energy Consumption +3.9% YoY, Clean Energy Share 33.2%

China's total energy consumption in the first quarter of 2026 grew by 3.9% year-on-year, accelerating by 0.4 percentage points from the full year of 2025, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The energy mix continued to improve, with the share of non-fossil energy in total consumption rising by 0.4 percentage points compared to the same period last year.

Energy Production: Natural Gas and Power

Natural gas output from industrial enterprises above the designated size reached 68.07 billion cubic meters (bcm) in Q1 2026, up 3.0% year-on-year. Coalbed methane, a key unconventional natural gas source, contributed 4.85 bcm, surging 10.9%. Power generation from the same enterprises amounted to 2.4 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh), a 3.4% increase. China has built the world's largest power grid, featuring cross-regional transmission from west to east and north to south, which helps overcome spatial constraints on energy resources.

Clean Energy Expansion

Clean energy sources—including hydro, nuclear, wind, and solar—generated 0.7 trillion kWh in Q1 2026, up 2.8% year-on-year, accounting for 33.2% of total industrial power generation. By the end of February 2026, the installed capacity of renewable energy nationwide reached 2.38 billion kilowatts, representing a record 60.3% of the country's total power generation capacity.

Crude Oil Imports Hit Record

Crude oil imports in Q1 2026 totaled 150 million tons, an increase of 8.9% year-on-year, setting a new historical high. This reflects the success of China's strategy to diversify import sources and transport routes, creating a "land-sea combined, multi-channel parallel" oil import pattern that enhances supply chain security, stability, and cost efficiency.

Energy Consumption Structure

Preliminary estimates show that total energy consumption growth of 3.9% in Q1 2026 outpaced the previous year's full-year rate. The share of non-fossil energy in the consumption mix increased, contributing to a cleaner and more resilient energy system. China continues to strengthen its energy production, supply, storage, and sales system, with coal acting as a safety net, oil and gas import channels being optimized, and renewable energy development accelerating under an integrated source-grid-load-storage approach.

Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China. Original: https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/sjjd/202604/t20260417_1963344.html