BEIJING, April 23 (Xinhua) -- China's total installed power generation capacity reached 3.96 billion kilowatts by the end of March 2026, up 15.5 percent year on year, the National Energy Administration said on Thursday.

A drone photo taken on Nov. 2, 2024 shows wind turbine blades at a wind power equipment company in Rudong County of Nantong City, east China's Jiangsu Province. (File photo: Xinhua)

Solar power continued its rapid expansion, with capacity soaring 31.3 percent to 1.24 billion kW. Wind power also posted strong growth, rising 22.4 percent to 660 million kW.

The country's average utilization hours of power generation equipment stood at 703 hours in the first quarter, down 66 hours from the same period last year, the administration added.