Beijing has set targets for faster growth in installed wind power generation capacity and higher levels of solar power usage up to 2017, though analysts say more financing and subsidies will be needed for them to be realized. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) set a goal of 150 gigawatt (GW) for wind power capacity and 70 GW for solar capacity by 2017. It is part of an objective to see non-fossil fuel supply 13% of the nation’s energy consumption by 2017, up from a target of 11.4% in 2015 and 9.8% last year. From 2001 to 2015 Beijing planned to invest CNY1.8 trillion to develop renewable energy projects to realize a goal of 100 GW of wind power capacity and 35 GW of solar capacity. At the end of last year, China had 77.6 GW of wind power capacity, according to the China National Renewable Energy Center. It also had around 20 GW of solar capacity. In order to reach the new targets, an annual average of 18.1 GW of capacity from wind farms and 12.5 GW of solar capacity would need to be added in the four years to 2017. In January, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said it aimed to add 18 GW of wind farm capacity and 14 GW of solar farm capacity this year. Last year, wind farm installations totaled 14.9 GW, short of the NEA’s target of 18 GW, due to a shortage of power transmission capacity that resulted in lower-than-expected capacity utilization and reduced profits for developers. The grid bottleneck has persisted in the past three years, with substantial relief only seen last year after State Grid Corp of China fast tracked some projects. “To reach the 2017 wind target, more needs to be done on transmission infrastructure expansion, and more financing needs to be made available,” said Michael Parker, Senior Analyst at U.S. brokerage Sanford C. Bernstein. “Project approvals also need to be fast tracked.” For solar farms, last year the industry far exceeded the NEA’s target of 10 GW, installing 12 GW.