According to forecasts of China Electricity Council - CEC, electricity consumption in China will annually grow by 8.8 percent on average in the 2011 to 2015 period. This increase is clearly lower than the actual growth of 14.56 percent in 2010 and 11.7 percent in 2011. Despite the lower consumption growth, China will lack electricity due to the relatively small number of new power plants presently under construction.
In 2012, China wants to invest 350 billion yuan in new electricity production plants, which is 5.7 percent less than in 2011. Continuous decline in investment in power plants is mainly due to decline in investment in thermal power plants, whose projects undergo a lengthy approval process, and also bring lower profits. Investments in clean technologies such as hydro and wind power will, however, quickly grow in 2012. Increased investment in transmission networks is also expected in 2012.
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