This Day, That Year: Oct 8

Editor's note: This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China.

In the 1980s, there was no electricity in Yuzhong, Gansu province. On Oct 8, 1985, a 10-kilowatt photovoltaic power station was built, helping to provide a bright future for people. It was the country's first such station. The 34-year-old power station still generates electricity.

Since its successful rollout, China's solar sector has made great strides. An item on Dec 16, 1998, from China Daily showed a solar station providing electricity for 70 families in Gonghe county, Qinghai province.

According to the National Energy Association, the installed capacity of photovoltaic power stations last year reached 174 gigawatts, growing 34 percent year-on-year.

The country is also home to many sizable solar farms-including the huge 850-megawatt Longyangxia Dam facility on the Tibetan Plateau, with its 4 million panels. One of the largest solar plants in the world is in the Tengger Desert, with a capacity exceeding 1,500 megawatts.

Solar energy is just a part of the country's efforts to reconstitute its overall energy mix. According to the China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute, installed capacity of renewable energy in China totaled 728.96 GW by the end of last year, which accounted for 38.4 percent of the total installed capacity, and increased 11.7 percent year-on-year.

The agency estimated that renewable energy in the country will continue to see rapid growth and next year, the installed conventional hydropower connected to the grid will be 340 GW, while that for wind power and solar power will be 230 GW and 250 GW, respectively.

China is set to be at the forefront of the increased generation of clean energy, while power storage will benefit from the rapid advances in battery technology.

By 2050, China will take pole position in wind and solar energy market share, as well as the storage battery market, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.