China achieved two clean energy world records last year, installing 32.5 gigawatts of wind and 18.3 gigawatts of solar power, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

While the country continued to cut down its coal consumption, China's solar and wind power generation capacity increased by 74 and 34 percent respectively in 2015 compared with 2014.

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Tim Buckley from the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis told New Scientist that in 2015, wind installations reached a 32.5 gigawatts record, while the nation added  solar had 18.3 gigawatt of solar power.

"China itself is the only nation to have come anywhere near this, delivering 20.7 gigawatts of new wind capacity in 2014," he said.

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis is predicting that the country will put up over 22 gigawatts of wind and 18 gigawatts of solar power by 2016. China had already installed over 114 gigawatts of wind power by the end of 2014, sufficient enough to power 110 million homes.

Meanwhile, China also reported that it has decreased its coal consumption by more than 3 percent, with imports down by 30 percent. The news backs the country's claim during the United Nations Climate talks in Paris in December 2015 that it will slash its power sector carbon emissions per unit of national wealth (GDP) by 40 to 45 percent by 2020.

Overall, clean energy - including solar, hydro, wind, nuclear and natural gas - now comprise 18 percent of China's total energy, a 13 percent jump from 2011.

Tagssolar energy, Wind energy, china, Electricity, clean gas