Accelerating the energy transition towards photovoltaic and wind in China

China’s goal to achieve carbon (C) neutrality by 2060 requires scaling up photovoltaic (PV) and wind power from 1 to 10–15 PWh year(−1) (refs. (1–5)). Following the historical rates of renewable installation(1), a recent high-resolution energy-system model(6) and forecasts based on China’s 14th Five-year Energy Development (CFED)(7), however, only indicate that the capacity will reach 5–9.5 PWh year(−1) by 2060. Here we show that, by individually optimizing the deployment of 3,844 new utility-scale PV and wind power plants coordinated with ultra-high-voltage (UHV) transmission and energy storage and accounting for power-load flexibility and learning dynamics, the capacity of PV and wind power can be increased from 9 PWh year(−1) (corresponding to the CFED path) to 15 PWh year(−1), accompanied by a reduction in the average abatement cost from US$97 to US$6 per tonne of carbon dioxide (tCO(2)). To achieve this, annualized investment in PV and wind power should ramp up from US$77 billion in 2020 (current level) to US$127 billion in the 2020s and further to US$426 billion year(−1) in the 2050s. The large-scale deployment of PV and wind power increases income for residents in the poorest regions as co-benefits. Our results highlight the importance of upgrading power systems by building energy storage, expanding transmission capacity and adjusting power load at the demand side to reduce the economic cost of deploying PV and wind power to achieve carbon neutrality in China.