China's power generation in the first seven months of the year increased by 7.8 percent compared to the same period in 2017, according to official figures released on Tuesday.
From January to July, power generation was up 1 percentage point on an annual basis, the National Bureau of Statistics said, citing a strong industrial demand for electricity, continued high temperatures, and a rapid increase in generating capacity.
According to the report, thermal power increased by 4.3 percent in July compared to the same month last year, while the growth rate was down 2 percentage points from the previous month.
The growth rate of hydropower increased by 2.3 percentage points from June, and 6 percent year-on-year, thanks to a surge in average rainfall of 18.9 percent compared to the same period last year.
In July, the growth rate of wind power was up 13.3 percentage points compared with the previous month, and marked an increase of 24.7 percent on an annual basis.
Solar power generation increased by 10.9 percent year-on-year, and was down 10.2 percentage points from June while the share of nuclear power was up 14.2 percent on an annual basis in July, despite falling 5.1 percentage points compared to the previous month.
-Coal imports up
According to other figures released by the bureau, raw coal production in July fell by 2 percent year-on-year, going up from 1.7 percent during the previous month. The seven-month output, on the other hand, saw a year-on-year increase of 3.4 percent with 1.98 billion tons.
From January to July, coal imports reached 170 million tons, an increase of 15 percent on an annual basis, the bureau said.
-Crude oil production down
In July, crude oil production stood at 15.85 million tons, down 2.6 percent compared to the same month last year. The output from January to July was also down to 109.95 million tons, a fall of 2.1 percent year-on-year.
Crude oil imports increased by 3.7 percent on an annual basis last month, while the seven-month import volume was 260.83 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 5.6 percent.
-Gas production, imports up
According to the statistics, last month, China produced 13 billion cubic meters of natural gas, up 10.5 percent year-on-year. The production between January and July also increased 5.5 percent compared to the same period last year, hitting 90.5 billion cubic meters.
Gas imports continued to grow at a high rate, the bureau said. In July, natural gas imports increased by 28.3 percent year-on-year, while the country imported 49.43 million tons of gas in the first seven months of 2018, an annual increase of 34.3 percent.
By Hale Turkes
Anadolu Agency